Our Little Family
by Ultrawoman
Summary: COMPLETE! [Sequel to Our Little Secret] How life for Buffy, Spike, and Rebecca worked out once they arrived back in Sunnydale. Humour, romance, drama, action, a little of everything really...and loads of Spuffy love!
1. Chapter 1

A/N : Anyone who saw what I wrote on my other fic about posting the first chapter of this sequel on Sunday, sorry I didn't deliver, but here it is, finally! I hope this story lives up to the expectations of everyone who has been waiting for it, after all I am mostly writing it for you people! Thanx for all the support and wonderful reviews on 'Our Little Secret' - hope you like this fic just as much!

Title : Our Little Family  
Rating : PG-13  
Summary : Sequel to Our Little Secret How life for Buffy, Spike, and Rebecca worked out once they arrived back in Sunnydale. Complete with Scoobies, Slayers, Vampires, love, hate, trust (or lack of), growing up, living life, coping with weirdness, and of course a whole load of Spuffy love!  
Disclaimer : All recognisable characters from BtVS / AtS belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Any unrecognisable characters from the shows (most specifically Rebecca) belong to me!

  
  
Chapter 1

"Spike, stop" Buffy made a very weak argument as Spike continued to kiss her neck, his hands running all over her body as he pinned her to the bed.

"You're the Slayer" he reminded her, "Do something about it. Make me stop"

There was just no way she could do that, he was too good at making her want him, and to be perfectly honest it didn't take much effort before she was helpless against him.

"You're evil" she giggled as she returned his advances and he chuckled near her ear.

"What can I tell you baby, I've always been bad" he reminded her, as it seemed inevitable the pair were not getting up from this bed for quite some time, until...

"Mom!" a voice yelled from down the hall and Buffy regrettably shifted to get away.

"Oh come on" Spike complained, trying to keep a hold on her, "She can wait fifteen minutes"

"William Blackwell!" Buffy pretended to be shocked as she finally made her escape from his grasp, "You would ignore your daughter for the sake of your own...fun?" she said, giving him a look as she headed for the door.

Spike grumpily climbed off the bed and followed her out and down the hall where they stopped in the doorway of their daughters room.

"Rebecca, must you scream for your mother's attention when we're...busy?" Spike asked her, "Didn't mind so much when you were a little bit but are you not big enough to do things for yourself now?"

"Daddy, you know only Mom can do my hair the way I want it for tonight" the almost-sixteen year old seated at the vanity table smiled, "and once I go out you can be as busy as you want together...just please don't ever tell me what you did" she made a face and her father smirked.

"No chance of that, pet" he assured her, "You're far too young to understand" he said as he kissed Buffy's cheek and disappeared downstairs. He always needed a stiff drink whenever his daughter so much as mentioned going out on a date. The scotch supply in the house had gone down rapidly lately.

Rebecca rolled her eyes as her mother came into her room.

"Why does Dad still think I'm a kid?" she sighed, "Sixteen years old in one week, hello"

Buffy smiled a she came to stand behind her daughter and started brushing her long blonde hair.

"You'll always be his little girl" the Slayer told the reflection of the younger girl in the mirror, "and my special baby" she added in a whisper, memories rushing from the back of her mind, flooding into the present like the tide catching up with her. Could it really be almost sixteen years since the day her Rebecca was born?

- - - - - - -

"Y'know something, Rebecca?" Buffy asked the tiny baby in her arms, "You were totally worth the effort, but Mommy feels like such a hideous mess right now"

"Personally, I think her Mum looks beautiful" said a voice and Buffy smiled as she looked up and saw Spike framed in the doorway of the hospital room, "I called Joyce" he said as he came over and sat down on the edge of the bed, putting his arm around his woman and the baby she held in her arms, "She was gonna drive straight here, but I told her maybe tomorrow would be better. Thought you could use some sleep"

Buffy's response was a rather large yawn as the child in her arms did the same.

"I am so proud of you" Spike told her, kissing the top of her head. She soon moved to put her lips to his.

"I love you" she whispered, "I really do, you were amazing out there, when I really needed you"

"And I love you" he reminded her, letting the compliment slip by but grinning like an idiot at the sound of her words. He figured it was going to take a while for him to get used to hearing words of love from her, but every time it would thrill him. He looked down at the baby then, and realised that seeing her everyday, bringing her up, knowing she was him and the Slayer perfectly combined, that would make him so happy too.

"You wanna hold?" Buffy asked when she noticed his attention had diverted from her to Rebecca and he nodded. The baby stirred slightly as she was put into her father's waiting arms and Spike knew if he were less strong he would cry from the wonder of it all. Buffy loved him, he had this beautiful daughter, if the world were to end right now he'd go a content and happy man, yes, for the first time in over a century he wasn't a monster, he really felt like a man.

"I think I could sleep for a week" Buffy flopped back against the pillows on the bed and Spike smiled. To be honest he wouldn't mind a few hours kip, the stress and worry alone had all but done for him.

"Looks like you're not alone in that" he told her as it seemed their child was a fraction away from the land of nod herself, "I think the nibblet here should be back in her cot...I sort of needed a word with her Mum anyway" he looked over at the Slayer then as she tried to hide the slight worry that she felt. He sounded too serious when he said that and she was too tired and emotional to cope with much. She watched Spike place Rebecca back into the little cot by the bed, before coming back to stand beside where she lay.

"Was wonderin'" he began, looking down at his hands and the small item they held, Buffy couldn't tell what it was yet, "why exactly you kept this in the first place?" he asked finally holding up the ring he'd given her months ago under the Will Be Done spell, "I mean, back then, I didn't even know I had feelings for you"

"I don't know why I kept it" Buffy shrugged, "I just, I couldn't let it go...and you never asked for it back" she reminded him.

"Thought about it" Spike admitted, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her again, still playing with the ring between his fingers, "but after a while it didn't seem important anymore, and now...Buffy, will you wear it again?" he asked her, "I mean properly, on your finger" he clarified, "I can't marry you, you know that, law-wise I don't even exist...but I love you, and that's one thing I'll always be sure of. You and the little bit are my world now, so...will you?"

Tears streamed down Buffy's face as she took in what he was saying. Coupled with the overwhelming emotions she was already feeling, it was almost unbearable.

"Yes, Spike" she managed to choke out, "I will"

The smile on his face threatened to split it in two as he took hold of her left hand and slid the silver skull ring onto her finger. It was slightly too big and not exactly what one would call pretty but Buffy loved it all the same.

"I love you so much, Slayer" Spike told her, still grinning, "I've never felt like this in my whole existence"

"I know what you mean" she smiled up at him, "because I love you that much too"

When he kissed her then she was even more sure it was right, that she'd made the correct choice in letting herself love and be loved by him. It wasn't going to be an easy ride, not with him being a vampire, her being the Slayer, and them having a child together. The Scoobies would need time to adjust to both Spike and Rebecca being around and a huge part of Buffy's life now. The Slayer only hoped they would be able to find it in them to be happy for her, because right at this moment she was happier than she'd ever been before.

- - - - - - -

"Come on, Mom" Rebecca urged her as she finished off her hair, "Ryan is here" she said, getting up from the seat and checking her outfit one more time in the mirror before scurrying down the stairs. Seems Buffy had done her daughters hair on auto-pilot since she certainly didn't remembering doing it, but it looked fine. She smiled as she followed Rebecca down the stairs, knowing it wasn't just her gorgeous dates arrival that prompted her to hurry. Spike was not exactly boyfriend-friendly where his little girl was concerned and it was often best not to leave him alone with any of them too long.

"Ryan, hi" Rebecca grinned as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Buffy right behind her. The young man smiled back nervously as he edged around Spike and came to stand beside his girl.

"You look beautiful" he told her, kissing her cheek. He wanted to do more than that, but it'd wait til he was away from the prying eyes of Becky's parents, her father in particular.

"You two have fun" Buffy smiled as the young pair headed out of the front door.

"Not too much fun" Spike added, looking pointedly at Ryan who swore he saw the man's eyes flash gold just for a moment, must have been a trick of the light he assumed, although in Sunnydale he knew anything was possible.

"Do you have to be like that?" Buffy sighed as she closed the front door and turned to her vampire love, "He seems like a very nice boy"

"We can all seem to be very nice, luv" Spike pointed, "Us fellas can do a good line in acting the innocent where a pretty girl is concerned, doesn't mean we don't turn into animals later on"

"Some of us girls happen to like that" Buffy smirked in much the same way that he usually did before heading off to the kitchen. Spike followed as she knew he would.

"I just don't like the thought of some spotty little youth getting his hands on my little girl" he said, sitting down on a stool by the counter whilst Buffy made hot chocolate for the both of them, knowing he'd want one without asking.

"_Our_ little girl" she amended, "and she's not so little anymore. At her age I'd already been the Slayer for over a year" she reminded him.

"One thing I'm glad about is that she's her mother's daughter" Spike said seriously as he moved from the stool, walked round the counter and hugged Buffy round the waist from behind, "If that Ryan tries anything, at least she can make him sorry for it"

Buffy smiled at that, recalling some of the more painful moves she and Spike had taught their daughter as she'd grown up.

"I think the only people she can't take down in one move is the two of us" the Slayer realised and Spike nodded as he picked up one of the mugs of hot chocolate and sipped it.

"No shock there, luv" he told her, "No-one can take me down, not even you"

Buffy's eyes were wide as dinner-plates, disbelief written all over her face as Spike walked from her side smirking the whole time.

"Oh you are so asking for it" she told him, as she laughed incredulously. The vampire put the mug down as his tongue ran over his teeth

"You better believe it, baby" he told her, twisting her words, "Give it your best shot, Slayer"

Managing to avoid sending either of the mugs flying, Buffy leapt over the counter top landing just inches in front of him. Far from being in a fighting mood he batted away her hands as she playfully attempted to hit him and they wrassled their way through to the living room, her landing on top of him on the couch.

"Now I've got you" she told him with a grin, breathing heavily from the exertion of the play-fight and the laughter.

"You've always got me Slayer" Spike told her seriously right before their lips met, "Almost thought you'd forgotten we've got the place to ourselves" he said between kisses, "Shame to waste an opportunity" he told her and she clearly agreed as she climbed off him, offering her hand to help him up. They headed for the stairs together, looking forward to a couple of hours of alone time. Even after all these years, they never got bored of nights like this.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : I'm hoping you'll like the style of this new fic. I originally planned to just start this story directly from where the last one left off at Rebecca's birth, but I had varous ideas for events during her life as she grew up with a Slayer mother and Vampire father. The first few chapters will flashback to her as a baby and stuff, complete with Scooby reactions, etc. then we'll move through the years. Opinions on what you've read so far and/or what I've mentioned in this note? Please leave a review! :-)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N : Wow, seems this is just as popular as it's prequel...so far anyway. 40 reviews on Chapter 1? I'm stunned, but very happy :-) Thanx for the reviews; Shania Maxwell, zanthinegirl, kargrif, Spuffyfan4eva, Celestria-17, Arisluv, Screeching Dragon, Kari Mouke, jazzman31, Brittany, rubi-elektra, wicked-angel3, burningfairy07, pyrobabe7713, Sunglasses-At-Night, velja, wigi, Mr Lennox I pressume, Slayergirl1212, Chris, spikespet2002, Freezyboncoolipants, Onion Petal, spikeswife1, Katie, Amandamanda3, Zanet, bl00dy mAn1Ac, samica, Lucky-112, MikiBaby, Lindsay, Bridge, theoneandonlygurl, spuffyfan-1, pixiecorn, Katie, Devin, MaidenRo, iluvglorfindel - good lord that's a lot of names! Some of you made interesting comments and asked questions which should get answered throughout the course of the story. Now, without further ado, here's chapter two!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 2

At last it seemed Spike was going to get his own way as he and Buffy lay on the bed together kissing, sleeping being the last thing on their minds as he reached for the zipper on the back of her skirt.

"Oh damn" she complained when the phone started to ring downstairs, easily audible in the empty house.

"Ignore it" came Spike's muffled opinion, as he kissed her neck.

"Can't" Buffy told him, "Could be something apocalypsey"

"Oh soddin' hell!" he complained as it was clear she wasn't going to let him get anywhere tonight until the phone had been answered. The Slayer rolled out from under him, zipping her skirt as she did so, before realising her bra was also too loose.

"When did you unhook this?" she frowned, reaching to refasten that too.

"S'your underwear" he shrugged, smiling devilishly from his position on the bed, "Can't expect me to keep account of what's happening to it" he told her as she rolled her eyes and headed for the door.

"Uh-uh" he shook his head in the negative as he leapt off the bed, landing between her and the exit, "You get back there and wait for me, like a good little Slayer" he told her.

She opened her mouth to argue but he didn't let her get a word in.

"If I let you answer that phone, and it's Willow or someone, I won't see you for the rest of the night" he told her, "So, I'll answer it, you can just...keep it warm for me" he smiled suggestively, kissing her on the end of the nose before closing the door on her.

With a sigh Buffy headed back to the bed and sat down before changing her mind and getting up again. She went over to the closet and dug out the shoebox at the back of it. She took it back over to the bed, opening it up and pulling out some of the items it held. Important papers, old jewellery, all kinds of bits and pieces that would mean very little to most people but mattered a whole lot to Buffy.

Right there in the bottom, she found what she was looking for, the old silver skull ring that she'd originally worn as a symbol of the love she and Spike shared. Since then he'd insisted on buying her what he called a 'real' ring, meaning something gold and pricey. She loved it and she wore it happily, but sometimes Buffy missed the sight and the feel of the old ring he'd given her originally, first under that spell and then later when they loved each other for real and had a child to bring up together. For old times sake, she slid the older ring onto the the third finger of her right hand instead, breathing on it and polishing it up on the material of her skirt.

With a happy sigh she reached for the items that belonged in the box and started to put them back until she noticed one particlar piece of paper. Unfolding it she smiled as she read the certificate that bore her daughters name - Rebecca Joyce Summers-Blackwell, born on 15th May 2000, to Buffy Summers and William Blackwell. Her fingers ran over the words and the smile would not shift from her face. She didn't even notice when Spike came back into the room and sat down beside her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and peered down at the paper she held.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked when she realised he was there.

"Just your Mum" Spike told her, "checking a couple of things for the party"

Saturday was to be a big day for the family, as Rebecca turned sixteen. They were having a celebration at the Bronze, and everyone was so excited about it.

"She loves Becky so much" Buffy smiled, "I was so afraid of even telling her I was pregnant"

"I remember" Spike nodded, running his fingers through her hair, "but I did tell you she'd understand. The day Rebecca was born, I don't think there was a prouder grandparent at the hospital than dear Joyce"

- - - - - - - -

As Joyce came into the hospital room she smiled. It seemed both Spike and Buffy had fallen asleep, him still perched on the edge of her bed and the two of them wrapped in each others arms. Next to them, in a little cot, was Joyce Summers first grandchild. Careful not to wake her daughter or Spike, she crept over and peered in at the baby.

"Oh, sweetheart" she breathed, tears coming to her eyes as the little girl wriggled in her sleep, "You're the most precious thing"

"Can't argue with that" Spike agreed as his eyes opened and he stretched his body out a little, trying not to wake Buffy, "You like the look of your grand daughter then, eh Joyce?"

"Spike, she's gorgeous" the woman enthused, "but then I guess she gets that from her fine genetics" she grinned, and if Spike were able he was sure he'd blush at the implication.

"Whats going on?" Buffy stirred beside him and he smiled down at her.

"Morning, pet. Look who's come to visit"

Joyce moved around the bed to greet her daughter and give her a hug. She told her how proud she was and how beautiful Rebecca was, as said little girl, desperate not to be left out of anything, woke up and screamed.

Spike had her out of the cot immediately, gently rocking her in his arms and soothing her til she was calm again. Buffy and Joyce looked on, the latter with a certain amount of astonishment. Where the Slayer had experience of Spike's kindness and love over the past weeks, her mother did not have that advantage. Though she thought he had the capacity for good, and she enjoyed his company, she knew that Rupert was right when he said that underneath it all Spike was a viscous demon. Indeed, the very first time she'd met him he'd been attacking her little girl, but looking at him now, watching him hold his own baby with such care and love, it was impossible to believe he'd ever been evil in the slightest measure.

"Here now, Rebecca" he said when she was finally quiet, "Come and meet Grandma Joyce" he grinned as he handed the child to her and earned himself a stern look.

"I am not old enough to be a grandma yet" she complained half-heartedly as she looked down at the tiny child in her arms.

"We thought Joyce would make a good middle name" Buffy told her, "and she'll have Spike's last name as well as ours" she explained.

"Oh, sweetheart" the older woman smiled at her daughter, tears of happiness threatening to spill from her eyes, "I am so proud of you"

- - - - - - - -

"I think your Mum was more moved by the occasion that even us two" Spike smiled at the memory, "Though I do believe you made me the happiest man on Earth that day" he told Buffy who placed the birth certificate back in the box and turned to look at him.

"I was the happiest woman too" she assured him, her hand on his cheek a she smiled, "I still am" she added right before they kissed.

"I believe you" he assured her, forehead still resting on hers, "but I knew back there at that hospital you weren't going to be one hundred percent content until you got the support of your Scooby Club" he told her with a grin, "Couldn't do anything without their approval back then y'know"

"That is not true" she protested, though she knew he was right. She really had been thrilled when the gang had come around and accepted the baby and her relationship with Spike much more easily than she ever would have hoped. Of course, they had one or two surprises for her too...

- - - - - - - -

"When are they coming?" Spike asked Buffy as she hung up the phone from calling Giles. They hadn't told anyone but Joyce about the baby at first, giving them a chance to get back to Sunnydale and spend a day getting used to their surroundings again before the onslaught of dealing with Buffy's friends. It had been agreed that until further notice, the Slayer would move back into her old room at home with Spike, whilst the spare room would become Rebecca's own.

"Giles said he'd call Will and Xand, arrange to bring them over in an hour or so" she said a little nervously, and Spike walked over to hug her.

"It'll be okay, luv" he promised, kissing the top of her head, "It might take time, but they will understand, and hey" he pulled away ad made her look at him, "if all else fails you'll always have me and Rebecca, right?"

"I know" Buffy nodded, tears threatening to spill from her eyes "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" she asked bringing her hand to his face. He leant his cheek into her palm, adoring the feel of her touch.

"If you love me half as much as I love you, Buffy" he said softly, "then I'm content"

"More than half" she promised, "More than anything" she said as she reached up to bring her lips to his. They held each other tight as the kiss went on until a cry from upstairs claimed their attention.

"Someone's not happy" Buffy sighed, pulling away from Spike and pushing her hair off her face.

"You get yourself ready for when your mates arrive" he told her, "I'll see to the Little Bit"

That agreed they both climbed the stairs, she going to their room and he to the baby.

"Hey now" said Spike as he went over to the crib Joyce had bought just yesterday, "What's all this noise about?" he asked the child who seemed to become calmer just from his presence in the room. He picked her up out of the cot and rocked her in his arms.

"You just wanted some company, didn't you Sweet Bit" he smiled, "and you're not alone in that. Gotta tell you, alone time is nice on occasion but I'm so much better off here with you and your Mum" he sighed, sitting down in the chair in the corner of the room, "Seems weird calling her 'your Mum' when I've barely got used to her being my Slayer. You look like her already, so beautiful. She says you've got my eyes but everyone knows that most kids are born with blue ones anyway...still, it'd be nice to think you got something good out of me being your Dad. That sounds weird too, me being a Dad, but I'm proud if it, more proud than anyone will ever know..."

The child yawned in her father's arms and he himself was having trouble staying awake now. He'd barely slept the past two days together, what with the birth and then looking after Buffy and the baby. Apart from a couple of hours at the hospital he'd barely closed his eyes and right now it was so appealing.

Before he knew it he'd drifted of and it was an hour later before he woke again, hearing voices downstairs...

"Buffy!" Willow shrieked as soon as her friend opened the door, flinging herself at the blonde and hugging her fiercely.

"Hey Will" Buffy hugged her friend back equally as tight. She'd missed the red-headed witch so much these past few weeks. They talked about almost everything usually and to have lost that lately had been a wrench for them both.

"Hey, how about a little huggage for the Xand-man?" a male voice complained and Buffy moved from hugging one best friend to the other, before finally embracing Giles. It was only then that someone coughed behind the gang and they parted to reveal Faith. Buffy looked at her warily.

"Hey B" she half smiled, "Look, I know I did wrong before and if you want me out of town now you're back and all I'll just clear out...trouble ain't my middle name any more y'know?"

"I saw what you did" Buffy said solemnly, "I got a vision when you fought Adam, defended my town and my friends in my place. Giles filled in the gaps when I called him and...I think it was incredible"

She shocked everyone, including herself when she stepped forward and hugged the brunette briefly. Faith looked astonished but grateful when Buffy pulled away again.

"Thankyou" she said simply, "I can't forget the bad things you did, and neither should you, but I'm willing to believe you're a better person now, that you want to be good"

"I do" Faith assured her with a nod.

"Then come inside" Buffy smiled, gesturing for her friends to all accept the invitation, which they did.

As Giles took one armchair and Buffy took the other, her friends and Faith sat along the couch.

"So, how've you guys been?" she asked them all, "I mean, apart from the whole major demon fightage thing"

"I rather think we're all much more interested in you, Buffy" Giles told her, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay" she smiled at the man she saw as very much her father figure, "I'm ridiculously happy, I just really hope you guys can be happy for me too" she said cautiously, looking around the room, "Spike has changed so much, even since we left Sunnydale. He loves me so much, and I feel the same, and then there's Rebecca..."

"Buffy, if you're happy, we are too" Willow assured her, "I mean, it's gonna take some getting used to, you and Spike being all big with the love and you two being Mommy and Daddy to a little girl" she admitted, "but we'll deal, it's okay"

"I love you guys" Buffy's eyes started to water as Xander nodded his agreement with what Willow was saying. Faith looked a little awkward, but was glad just to have been accepted so far.

"Looks like the party started without us" said a voice as Spike made his way down the stairs and appeared in the doorway with a baby in his arms.

"Oh Goddess" Willow gasped when she saw the tiny child.

"Afternoon all" Spike nodded, giving Buffy a look as he stood on the edge of the sunlit area of the room with nowhere to go.

"Oh" she made a sound of realisation as she scrambled for the drapes and Faith helped her pull them across the window.

"Well then" he smiled gratefully as Buffy sat down again and he came further into the room, "S'pose you all ought to meet our daughter"

"Guys" Buffy grinned as she took the child from Spike and he perched on the arm of the chair beside her, "This is Rebecca Joyce Summers-Blackwell"

"She's beautiful, Buff" Xander told her, as he gazed at the child "Looks just like her Mom"

"The kids a peach, B" Faith agreed, "and the boyfriend ain't bad either" she dared to add, earning her a smile from Spike, one that meant despite all that had happened he was willing to let bygones be bygones too.

"Rebecca" Buffy said to her daughter, "This is Grandpa Giles" he frowned at that but let her continue, "Aunt Willow, Uncle Xander...and Aunt Faith" she added to the others surprise. Still, the dark Slayer had earned a little respect and friendship after all she'd done for them, she wanted to be a better person and that would only happen if she was treated better, just the same as Spike, they realised.

- - - - - - - -

"It's amazing what love can do" Buffy smiled to herself as she put the shoebox of memories back into the closet, "I was so happy when I had you and Becky, but it was extra good to know the gang accepted us all"

"Gotta tell ya" Spike sighed "I didn't think I cared what that lot thought but, when they accepted me into the little gang of theirs, it means something to belong like that...I never had before"

Buffy sat down next to him on the bed once again and began to kiss him. In moments he had her pinned to the bed once again, making her feel all kinds of wonderful things as he started to undress her.

"Didn't think I'd forgotten the original plan, did you?" he grinned as sat up for a second to remove his T-shirt.

"I hoped you hadn't" Buffy told him with her own smile as he leant over her once again.

'This time, interruptions be damned' she thought as he reminded her in the most beautiful way, just how much he loved her.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : All reviews gratefully received and loved :-)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N : Sorry it's been so long since I updated, I feel bad about it really, but here I am now with a brand new chapter for you all! Thanx to the latest reviewers; Freezyboncoolipants, Amandamanda3, Screeching Dragon, Bridge, katie, Sunglasses-At-Night, Arisluv, pixiecorn, rubi-elektra, Lindsay, Moluvsnumber17, Chris, Spuffyfan4eva, Shania Maxwell, MaidenRo, Faint Hate, Katie, tattereds, Lady Savage, velja. Answers to all questions/comments needing an answer are at the end of the chapter so as not to take up to much room at the beginning. Hope you like the new chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

  
  
Chapter 3

Buffy sighed with contentment as Spike rolled off her and did the same.

"I love you" he told her as he always did, pulling her into his arms.

"I love you" she echoed back, loving the feeling of being in his embrace like this almost as much as she loved what they'd just done before.

They lay in comfortable silence thought neither was ready for sleep yet.

"What are you thinking about?" Spike asked, his thumb absently rubbing Buffy's neck as he kissed the top of her head.

"Just you and me and...y'know stuff" she shrugged, snuggling closer to him.

"Oh yeah, stuff" Spike smiled, "that's not in the least bit vague" he said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean" she complained, rolling her eyes, "_the_ stuff" she stressed and he almost laughed at her phrasing when he realised what she meant.

"You can't just say shagging like everyone else?" he asked, as she tipped her head up to look at him, and he pushed her hair off her face.

"Everyone else does not say that" she reminded him, "Just you with your British weirdness" she told him with a smile and a kiss.

"Well, me and my 'British weirdness' are still not understanding what was quite so thought provoking about our latest round of fun" he told her, quickly adding "not that it wasn't glorious as ever" in case he'd offended her somehow. He kissed her thoroughly, enforcing his point, and despite the fact she hadn't felt in the least offended anyway, she enjoyed it immensely.

"It was the glorious that got me all big with the thinkage" Buffy admitted when the kiss ended and she got a chance to breathe, "It got me thinking about the first time..." she admitted almost shyly, as she cuddled up close to him again, hiding her face against his chest so he couldn't see if she blushed.

"You know, pet" he told the top of her head since it's all he could see, "and I'll be severely pissed if you tell anyone this but...it meant something to me too, the real first time between us. I would hope you know that after all this time"

"You never told me" she frowned slightly as she moved to look up at him and he smiled.

"I didn't think I had to" he told her, "Thought it was bloody obvious that I never loved another woman like I love you, never felt anything as special as when we're together" he said softly, his hand caressing her face.

Buffy didn't know what to say to that as she laid back down, half beside him, half on top of him, holding him so tight as if she thought he might disappear at any second.

"I love you so much, William" she whispered, as both their minds sped back sixteen years...

- - - - - - -

"I love you so much, William" Buffy whispered in his ear as he laid on top of her on their bed, his lips travelling down her neck and across her shoulder.

"I know" he replied softly, between kisses "and I love you too Buffy, you'll never know how much"

She encouraged him to continue as his hands slid inside her clothing, but despite his desire to be with her this way, he managed to over-ride it with common sense.

"We have to stop, luv" he said regretfully pulling away from her. She shook her head in protest, pulling him back to her.

"Make love to me, please" she begged of him, and it took everything he had to move away from her. He climbed off the bed completely and stood to the side, watching her breathe unevenly as he tried to calm himself down.

"It's only four weeks since Rebecca was born" he reminded her, as if she could forget, "and I know practical is not my strong point but...I won't hurt you, luv, I just can't do it" he told her solemnly.

"Do you really think I'd ask you to..." she paused awkwardly before continuing, "if I thought it was dangerous" she smiled as she climbed off the bed and walked towards him, stopping with just a fraction of an inch between her body and his, "I went to see the doctor early, cos y'know with Slayer healing and everything I figured I'd be fine by now"

"And?" he prompted her to continue, wondering how he was still concentrating on words as her fingers played with the top buttons of his shirt.

"And he told me what I already knew" she told him, "It's safe, I'm fine" she assured him, "or I would be if you'd just do what I ask...you do still want me, right?" she checked, looking so innocent and afraid he might not.

Spike leaned down and kissed her, leaving no doubt in her mind that he still wanted her very much.

"I love you, you silly bint" he said good-naturedly as he hugged her close, "I'll always love you, and I'll always want you"

Buffy pulled away from him slightly and looked up into his eyes.

"Then show me, Spike" she said, walking backwards toward the bed and taking him with her, "Show me how much you love me"

- - - - - - -

Though Spike had fallen asleep almost half an hour ago, Buffy was still very much awake. The house was silent, as it should be at midnight when the only two people in it were her and her sleeping man. She was still far too busy reminiscing to fall asleep.

Though her actual first time with Spike had been under Willow's Will be Done Spell (actually that was the first two times, but that wasn't the point) Buffy always counted that day, four weeks after their daughter was born, as their first time of making love.

It was so real and intense and full of pure love that afterwards she'd cried a she fell asleep in his arms. He'd called her a 'soppy bint' and she hadn't argued since she didn't really know what he meant. She didn't understand herself why that time was so special, she hadn't felt so moved after her one time with Angel and definitely not with Parker. Buffy surmised she just hadn't been as in love with them as she was with Spike, though when she awoke the next morning, she'd felt like crying again, for a much less pleasant reason...

- - - - - - -

As Buffy opened her eyes to a new morning she realised with some sadness that she had awoken to it alone. The bed beside her where Spike had lay, his arms firmly around her, was empty, a blank space and an empty room was all that faced her. The night before had been without doubt the most beautiful she'd ever known, but now it had happened was her happiness over?

Though she knew it was wrong to draw comparisons, the tears that filled her eyes were only there because of events that came before. Her first and only night with Angel she'd woken up to find him gone, only to realise later that he had lost his soul as he insulted her and made her feel wretched and worthless.

Then there was Parker who had convinced her that sleeping with him would be some sort of statement about living life or some other such crap, and when she woke up in his bed it was alone, again to have him tell her later that it was fun but it was over.

Other than that there had only been her magic-induced time with Spike and that wasn't even a night they spent together, just a bit of a fumble in Giles bedroom whilst the Watcher was asleep. As nice as it had been it was nothing like last night, but now it was over, and it was looking very much like Spike had left just like the rest.

As one lone tear trickled down Buffy's cheek, the bedroom door swung open and she was slightly surprised but also thrilled to see Spike there, wearing only his jeans, and carrying their baby in his arms.

"There now" he said as he rocked Rebecca gently, "Didn't I tell you we'd find Mummy in here?" he smiled, bringing the child over to the bed and sitting down on the edge, near Buffy.

"I wondered where you were" she said, almost accusingly and Spike didn't realise at first as his eyes remained on his daughter who was finally going back to sleep it seemed.

"Heard the little bit getting all restless, went to see what was up before she screamed the house down, that's all" he smiled, looking over at Buffy. The smiled dropped off his face when he saw her wipe away a tear.

"Hey, what's that about?" he asked with a slight frown, but Buffy shook her head.

As it seemed now that Rebecca was sleeping again, Spike took the opportunity to leave the room. He needed to get her back in her crib before she woke up again and then it seemed like he and Buffy needed to talk, though he wasn't sure why. She'd promised him before they went to sleep last night that he hadn't hurt her. She'd told him quite the contrary, that he'd made her feel like a goddess. What Spike was at a loss to understand therefore, was why she was crying now.

When he came back into the bedroom she was lying down again, her back facing the door, as she feigned sleep. There was no way in hell she was out that fast, Spike knew that as he removed his jeans and climbed into bed, pressing himself to her back and wrapping his arms around her. Though a part of her wanted to scramble away and stick to being hurt, mostly Buffy just loved to be close to him like this and couldn't bring herself to move away from his touch.

"What's the matter, baby?" he asked as he kissed her shoulder. With a sigh she turned over in his embrace to face him.

"You weren't there" she admitted quietly, "When I woke up, I was alone again..." she wondered if it sounded ridiculous to him. All the girls he'd slept with, she doubted very much that any of them were to eager to be out of his bed fast, but this mattered to her, she needed reminding that he wasn't like the rest.

Spike was micro-seconds away from saying he didn't understand when his brain engaged, memory kicking in like a smack in the face and he caught on to why she was so upset.

"Buffy" he sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear, "You seriously think after last night I'd have got up and left you?" he asked with some disbelief.

She gave a half-hearted shrug, knowing she'd been a little ridiculous about it, but just so afraid someone was going to take away her happiness again.

"Sweetheart, I'm in this for the long haul" he reminded her, "It's what this means" he told her, bringing her hand out from under the duvet and showing her his ring that she wore, "it's what last night meant, and it's what that baby in the next room represents" he said firmly, "I love you, Buffy, and there are no conditions on that, no ulterior motives attached to it. It is what it is, and it's just about the only thing in this world that I'm certain about" he told her solemnly, "My love for you, and our child. It's all I need"

"I'm sorry" Buffy sniffed as another tear escaped down her cheek and she moved to hug him close.

"Nothin' to be sorry for, pet" he assured her, hugging her back, "I understand the whole rejection thing" he told her, knowing that was true enough. Buffy pulled back to look at him then and smiled.

"Not anymore you don't" she said with a shake of her head, "because I love you so much"

She kissed him then and he was happy to go along with her plans. Despite the fact that dawn had passed and the day was beginning, Spike and Buffy were too busy with each other to bother getting up right now.

- - - - - - -

Buffy sighed in a dreamy state as beautiful memories danced around in her head. she looked over at Spike's sleeping form and smiled as she leant over to kiss his lips. He looked so peaceful and beautiful, and since the house was empty no-one was going to mind if she used her old method for waking him up that always made him smile!

Just as she was considering it, there was a loud bang downstairs and the vampires eyes sprang open.

"What the bloody hell...?" was as far as he got as Buffy leapt out of bed, grabbing her dressing gown as she pounded towards the door. They ran down the stairs only to find her daughter in the hallway, red-faced and crying.

"Becky, what happened?" she asked worriedly, reaching for the stake that she kept in the drawer under the hall table.

"It's Ryan" she choked out, as she went into her mother's arms, tears cascading down her cheeks.

Spike appeared on the stairs, having managed to wake himself up enough to co-ordinate his body into a pair of black jeans and a T-shirt, and get himself down to where his two girls were. He looked to Buffy for explanation and she mouthed 'Ryan' to him. His eyes flashed with flecks of gold as he came to stand beside them.

"What did that git do to you, luv?" he asked as calmly as he could and Rebecca moved to his arms instead of he mothers.

"Daddy, I thought he was nice" she complained as she sobbed into his shoulder, "but he was a nasty bugger just like all the rest" she howled, his own turn of phrase escaping her lips.

Spike shared a worried look with Buffy before taking his little girl by the upper arms and pushing her away enough that he could see her face.

"Sweetheart, I know you don't wanna talk about it, but you have to tell us if he did something to you" he told her, fighting the urge to slip into his vamp face. Buffy could see how hard he was trying and she was so proud of him and the way he'd learnt to control his demon side over the years.

"It's okay" Rebecca nodded bravely, tears finally subsiding, "He tried to...touch me" she said, looking away both embarrassed and ashamed though she had no reason to be, "I told him not to and when he didn't stop I...he was unconscious when I walked away" she said with fear in her eyes. She hadn't meant to do any major damage to him, but Ryan had made her so upset and angry she just laid him out like she would take down a vampire.

"You did the right thing, honey" Buffy told her tearful daughter, a hand on her arm "Nobody has the right to force you when you say no"

Rebecca nodded gratefully to her mother. She knew she was right but she did feel bad for hurting Ryan so badly. Yes, he'd done wrong, but she was fairly certain her right hook had broken his jaw, and there was no telling what damage she'd done when her knee hit other places...

"Gave him a couple of choice bruises did you, luv?" Spike couldn't help the smirk that settled on his face as he imagined it.

"In places you wouldn't wanna know about" she managed a smile, as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"That's my girl" her father grinned as he hugged her and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"_Our_ girl" she corrected him for the second time that night as she joined in the hugging, "and thank God we taught her well"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Readers opinions always needed, so hit that little button and send a review please! :-)

Replies to Reviews on Chapter 2

Freezyboncoolipants - issue of possible powers for Rebecca coming up in the next chapter.

katie - yep, seems like there's two of you! Buffy was 19 by the end of Season 4 when Rebecca was born. With Becky about to be 16 that means that, yes, Buffy is 35. The issue of Spike not ageing while Buffy does will be dealt with in a later chapter.

rubi-elektra & MaidenRo - the Scoobies are accepting Spike like they accepted Angel because they sort of had to if they wanted to stay friend with Buffy. They've missed her while she's been away and they see that Spike took care of her and that they're in love. Also, just because they act like they're okay with it, away from Buffy's house they probably aren't so much. In the same way, the Buffy-accepting-Faith thing is not as simple as it seems. She's grateful to her for all she's done for her friends and that makes up for some of the badness, but just because Buffy acted totally comfortable around her sister-Slayer doesn't mean that she has fully forgiven her on the inside.

tattereds - I like my fluffy Spuffy! lol. I figured I made the fans suffer so much by taking such a long time to get Spike and Buffy together in the prequel, they deserve some fluff now.

Lady Savage - I see what you're saying, but for now I think I'm gonna stick with my original style. Thanx for the opinion though.

velja - dealing with that ageing issue soon, I promise.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N : Thanx for all the latest reviews; kargrif, freezyboncoolipants, naiya-isis, ForeversEnough, Lady Savage, Shania Maxwell, Arisluv, Faint Hate, katie, Bakaman, Amandamanda3, Screeching Dragon, letitia, Moluvsnumber17, Lindsay, Ape18, MaidenRo, Slayergirl1212, pixiecorn. I'm so glad this sequel is doing so well. It even got nominated at VK awards! Okay, who was it that nominated me? Thanx to whoever it was! :-) Here's the next chapter, sorry if it's short but the next one is coming soon...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 4

When Rebecca had finally calmed down and gone off to bed, Buffy and Spike went back to their own room, but neither could sleep. The vampire was imagining a few choice ways he could teach one Ryan Thompson a serious lesson about how to treat a lady, whilst the Slayer was having almost as violent thoughts herself. Buffy knew she could never actually do that to a human being and despite the fact he'd done it in his past, Spike knew he couldn't be that person anymore either.

"I feel so bad for Becky" Buffy sighed, as she lay in Spike's arms in their bed, "I remember too well how dating at her age can be"

"Well, some of us don't have that insight" the man beside her pointed out, "but at least we brought her up decent" he reminded her, "No piece of scum is gonna take advantage of our Little Bit" he said, giving Buffy a squeeze and kissing the top of her head.

"Morals are good but it helps that she has the strength and skills to defend herself" Buffy considered, "In some ways I'm glad she's like me"

"You weren't at the time!" Spike scoffed, "You went bleedin' apoplectic!"

"I was not that bad" she said indignantly as she pulled away to look at him.

"I'm sorry, luv" he shook his head not looking anything like apologetic, "but you really were that bad. You don't remember the huge falling out you had with your Scooby mates, the day they realised what they'd done?"

- - - - - - - -

"Hey Buff" Willow smiled nervously as the front door of Revello Drive swung open to reveal herself, Xander, and Giles.

"Hey guys" the Slayer smiled as she hefted her six month old daughter higher on her hip and pushed her hair up off her face with the other hand, "Er, come in" she told them moving aside so they could enter. Rebecca watched the three people in fascination as they traipsed into the living room and sat down along the couch.

"Spike!" Buffy called up the stairs, also attracting the attention of her mother from the kitchen.

"Oh, Rupert, Willow, Xander" she smiled as she came into the room, drying her hands on a dish-towel, "What a nice surprise"

"Good evening Joyce" Giles greeted her with a too bright smile that made the others share a glance but the moment soon ended as Spike thundered down the stairs.

"Oh God, not another bleedin' apocalypse" he said as he stopped abruptly in the living room door, spotting the whole gang there.

"No, no" Willow shook her head as Buffy took a seat in the armchair and put her child on her knees, "Nothing end-of-the-world-y, we promise"

"Actually, what we've discovered has to do with Rebecca" Giles told them, removing his glasses and polishing the lenses as Spike sat down on the arm of Buffy's chair, wrapping a protective arm around her and his daughter.

"What about her?" he asked warily as Joyce sat down in the other armchair and braced herself for whatever kind of nasty shock was coming.

The three new arrivals were silent and Buffy looked pointedly at each, desperate for an answer to her partners question. Xander was the first to crack.

"It's, well, it kinda has to do with a spell" he said nervously, two pairs of eyes boring into him, making him feel very threatened, "Y'know the spell we did to defeat Adam?"

"Course we bloody remember, it was the day Becky was born" Spike rolled his eyes at the boys ignorance.

"Right, well, it had to do with the Slayer and..." Xander swallowed hard and bottled out, turning to his witch friend for help.

"We summoned the power of the First Slayer" Willow explained, glancing between her hands in her lap and the faces of Spike, Joyce, Buffy and the baby she held to her, "The power was for Faith to make her powerful enough to beat back Adam, but you were...are the Slayer too Buffy, so you got it too"

"The vision, luv" Spike said, looking down at the blonde, "Back in Santa Monica you knew your mates were in trouble, you said you saw it like a vision"

"I did" Buffy nodded warily, "This power shot through me, the true power of the Slayer I guess but...what does that have to do with Rebecca?" she wanted very much to know. It was Giles that revealed the main point.

"Buffy, unborn children are affected by their mothers" he told her as simply and calmly as he could, "Whatever she does, be it eating damaging foods, drinking alcohol, smoking, it all affects the child inside her"

"Rupert, I think we all know that much" Joyce pointed out rather agitated by the situation.

"Indeed Joyce" Giles nodded once, "but it appears we did not think about it at the time of our spell. We did not consider the implications of summoning the First Slayer's power for Faith's use"

"Oh my God" Buffy gasped, tears in her eyes as she suddenly realised what he was saying, "When Faith got that power, so did I" she swallowed hard "and so did Becky" she added glancing up and Spike who frowned in confusion.

"But when the spell ended, it went away, the extra power, right?" the vampire looked around the room, hoping for further explanation and it was Willow who spoke up.

"It left Faith and Buffy, but children work differently, especially not-born-yet ones" she shrugged slightly, "Rebecca held onto the power...she's a Slayer" she said finally and Buffy closed her eyes, wishing it all away as she pulled her baby close to her body and held her tighter.

Spike's arm went further around Buffy, and he kissed the top of her head. He had no idea what to say. His daughter was a Slayer, his supposed enemy, not that it made a huge difference in that respect because Buffy was a Slayer too and it didn't stop her loving him or him feeling the same about her. Still, he knew Buffy had wanted a relatively normal life for their child, instead of which the girl was not just a look-alike of her mother, but it seemed she had her strength and skill and destiny too.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Joyce asked her daughter, reaching out a hand to her arm.

"No" Buffy shook her head, her tone cold as her eyes opened again and she observed her so-called friends before her, "I want them out of here" she said firmly. Xander looked astonished.

"Buff, it wasn't our fault, we just..."

"You heard the lady" Spike ground out, demon face rippling beneath the surface of his human guise, eyes sparkling with flecks of gold.

"I think it might be best if you all went home for now" Joyce said carefully, standing up and encouraging the Scoobies to do the same. Giles went for a tactfully quiet exit, and Xander was too rattled by Buffy's icy tone and Spike's struggle to stay out of game face to argue anymore. Willow was the last one to file out of the house. Looking back at the little family huddled in the armchair, she felt horribly guilty.

"I'm sorry" she said softly as she walked out of the front door and Joyce closed it behind her.

As soon as they were gone Buffy broke down into noisy sobs, rocking her baby back and forth on her knee as Spike held onto them both.

"Ssh sweetheart, it's okay" he tried to calm her. Though he was stunned by the revelation of Rebecca being a Slayer, he didn't hate the idea as much as Buffy seemed too.

"It's not okay, Spike" Buffy cried, and Joyce left the room, unable to bear seeing her girl so upset and knowing she and Spike needed to be alone right now.

"So the little one'll be a Slayer" he said calmly as he rubbed her back, "Didn't do you any harm, did it?"

"You have no idea" Buffy continued, shaking her head, "I wanted her to be normal, to have friends and dates and fun" she explained, "My life revolved around vampires and demons and weapons for so long Spike, and it still does to some degree" she cried, "I don't want her to go through that, I don't want my little girl to have that destiny"

Tears streaked down her face and the baby on her knee looked up at her with wide innocent eyes. She had no idea what was going on, except Mommy didn't look happy about it. She cried for a long time, tears dripping down onto Rebecca's arm and making her squirm.

"They've ruined by baby's life" Buffy said sadly when she had no tears left to cry, "I won't ever forgive them for it"

As much fun as it might have been at one time for Spike to hear that the bloody Scooby Gang wouldn't ever be bothering him and his Slayer again, he'd come to realise lately what an asset it was to have friends and allies. More than that he knew they were like extended family to Buffy, and he couldn't just let her throw all that away. Besides, there were advantages to the situation they just found themselves in.

Spike sighed, moving to crouch down on the floor in front of Buffy. Rebecca grinned as she turned and found him there, reaching a hand out to his face. She giggled when he pretended to bite at her fingers, and made a fuss until he lifted her from her mother's lap.

"Buffy, luv" he said softly, "You and this little one, you two mean the world to me" he told her as the girl in his arms played with the collar of his shirt, "I'm going to love you and her no matter what happens, and you know we never would've had a normal life anyway" he reminded her, "Surely it's better that she can defend herself against the things we know are out there, than have us constantly worrying about protecting her"

"I always want to protect her" Buffy said softly, her throat hoarse from crying. She reached a hand out to the little girl, fingers running over light blonde curls of hair.

"Me too" Spike agreed, "but it'll be a comfort to know, as she grows up, that she has some way to protect herself too, won't it?" he asked with a tilt of his head. Buffy smiled as Rebecca turned to look at her with a big grin on her face.

"I guess it will" the Slayer agreed, leaning forward to kiss her daughters head.

"Any chance of me getting one of those?" Spike asked with a smirk and Buffy placed her lips to his. Rebecca grinned wider and clapped her hands together as her parents kissed.

- - - - - - - -

"I did tell you it'd all work out, didn't I?" Spike reminded his Slayer who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, okay, you were right again" she sighed, "Can we please go to sleep now?"

"Sure thing, luv" he smiled, turning out the bedside lamp, and saying good night.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Scientific fact : Reviews makes authors write faster. Okay so maybe it's not so much a scientific fact but it does tend to be true! ;-) Also, do keep mentioning in your reviews what you want me to cover in the flashbacks. I have several ideas of my own but if you have any others I'll certainly consider them. I know the age issue is something you all want to see dealt with and I promise that is coming, I just have a couple of other things to get through first :-)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N : Finally I have another chapter of this fic for you, sorry if it seems like forever. Thanx for the latest reviews; Ape18, Onion Petal, Spuffyfan4eva, kargrif, Freezyboncoolipants, sunnyhell, u2fan2005, Screeching Dragon, IceBlueRose, Chris, Moluvsnumber17, pixiecorn, TheOnlyFera, Slayergirl1212, Fain Hate, Spuffy101, tattereds. I love all your kind comments, and I am attempting to incorporate all the ideas you give me as well as answer all the questions that you ask. Just give me time :-) Here's the next chapter...   
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 5

"It is good to know that guys can't take advantage of her, and that she can deal when we're not there to help" Buffy said in the dark. Despite her request to go to sleep she could not stop thinking about her daughter and what had happened tonight, "And y'know tonight could've been worse" she continued "Ryan could've been a vampire..." she stopped short when she realised what she'd said and to whom. It was ridiculous but she rarely thought about Spike's vampire status anymore, to the point where she said things like she just had without a moments hesitation.

"Oh Spike, I am so sorry" she said fast, covering her mouth with her hand, unable to believe she'd been so stupid.

"S'okay luv" he smiled, putting his hand to her cheek affectionately, "Can't say as I'd much fancy my girl dating a demon either" he admitted.

"I forget that it's what you're supposed to be" she sighed, leaning her face into his hand, "You're so different now"

"Still a demon, pet" he reminded her, "nothing's ever going to change that"

"I know" Buffy nodded, moving closer and kissing him, "but that's what you are, it's not who you are...and I love you so much" she promised him as he kissed her back and they moved down under the covers together. As his hands travelled inside her night-dress, Buffy squirmed away from him.

"Spike, not now" she told him firmly, "Rebecca's still awake, and I can't when I know she might hear"

"Spoil sport" Spike said grumpily, "Shouldn't be so damn sexy, should ya Slayer?" he complained, "S'not my fault if just looking at you makes me want to shag you"

Buffy rolled her eyes and turned over so her back was against his chest. His arms wrapped around her from behind and held her close.

"I don't think I'm gonna get to sleep anytime soon" Buffy sighed, "My heads too busy with stuff"

"Been getting too nostalgic, pet" Spike told her, "Gotta say the one that sticks in my mind was tryin' to explain the whole other-world thing to the little one"

"It wasn't easy" Buffy agreed.

"Thing that bothered me most was, how do you get a little kid to understand the difference between good and evil and then tell her one of the supposed nasties is her Dad?" the vampire commented as he remembered a day, more than ten years ago.

- - - - - - -

"Hello, sweetheart" Spike smiled as his little girl ran into the kitchen and flung herself at his legs.

"Hi Daddy!" the almost-six year old grinned, squeezing his shins until he leant down and picked her up off the floor. He sat her on the edge of counter and straightened out her blonde hair.

"You have fun with Aunt Willow?" he asked, just as the red-head came into the room.

"Uh-huh" Rebecca nodded madly, "She got me a new dvd!"

"Really?" Spike frowned slightly at the witch, "Honestly, Red, you didn't have to" he told he as she handed the box to him.

"She's practically my niece, Spike" Willow smiled, "and who else am I going to spend my hard earned dollars on"

The vampire thanked her and checked his daughter had done the same before looking properly at the dvd in his hands.

"Beauty and the Beast, eh?" he said aloud, "Didn't we watch this on TV last month?" he asked his daughter who nodded.

"It's my favourite" she told him, making him smile. Just about every Disney movie she saw became her latest favourite, although he had to admit he did sort of approve of this one. The guy who seemed evil but was actually good, Buffy had commented on how similar that was to his own situation. A situation that so far, Rebecca was not aware of.

"Did you want a coffee, Red?" he asked the witch, "I was just making a drink"

"No, thanks, I'm fine" Willow told him, "I really have to go anyway, me and Tara have a Wicca group meeting in an hour" she explained.

She said goodbye to Spike and Rebecca and let herself out of the house as the little girl waved her dvd around and begged her Daddy to put it on for her to watch.

"Just a minute, baby" he told her, going back to microwave to get out his blood. He usually avoided drinking it in front of Becky but he hadn't expected her and Willow back just yet. One day he knew he was going to have to tell his daughter the truth anyway, but he was just so afraid of her hating him for what he was.

When he turned back from the microwave, he found Rebecca had grabbed the pen from next to the phone and was just about to begin drawing on the box of her dvd.

"Don't do that, Becky" he stopped her just before the tip of the pen hit the cover, "Don't wanna mess up your present, do you?"

"I was just gonna scribble out the bad man, Daddy" she said innocently. Spike was a little surprised to see she was gesturing at a cartoon drawing of a human being rather than the beast.

"The beast's not a bad man then?" he checked and the little girl shook her head fiercely, making her blonde bunches swing about.

"Nuh-uh" she told him firmly, "The beast was a nice man underneath, he just looked hairy and stuff, but he loves Belle and then he gets to be a man again" she explained with a grin and Spike glanced back to the mug of blood by the microwave. The smell of it coupled with the hunger from not feeding for too long was making it increasingly difficult to keep his game face back, and he knew he'd get no better opportunity than this to tell Rebecca what he really was.

"Can we put on my dvd now please, Daddy?" she asked him, reaching for his hand and pulling on it. Taking an unneeded deep breath he turned back to her.

"Baby, there's something I need to talk to you about before we watch, okay?" he said calmly as he could.

"Okay, Daddy" Rebecca agreed easily, putting the dvd down next to her as Spike took a seat on the stool in front of where she sat on the counter.

"Now, first of all, you know I love you and your Mum very much, don't you?" he told her and she nodded.

"We love you too, Daddy" she assured him and he swore if he was less of a man he'd cry.

"I know, baby, but there's something I have to tell you that might change things" the little girl looked lost already and Spike wasn't entirely sure he knew where he was going with this, "You see, the beast, in your movie here" he told her, one hand hovering near the dvd box, "he's a good man, he's just sort of trapped in a bad body, right?"

"Uh-huh" Becky agreed with a nod.

"Well, in our world there are people like that too, only they're good people with a bad thing inside, that they can't always control...do you understand?" he looked at her hopefully and her face crinkled thoughtfully as her little brain worked over-time.

"There are nice people with beasts inside?" she tried and Spike paused a moment before nodding.

"In a way, sweetheart, yes" he told her, "but like the one in your movie, they can be nice people too"

"Nice people like you and Mommy?" she asked with a smile and Spike couldn't help but smile himself at how close she was.

"Yes, baby" he told her, "Y'see, Daddy has something inside of him that's bad, but I love your Mum and you enough that I can control it and be good" he said carefully trying to gauge her reaction. He couldn't smell any fear so that was good, but she did look a little confused.

"You used to be a bad man?" she asked, little lip trembling at the very idea. She looked more disappointed in him than afraid, and that was almost worse.

"I did" he nodded sadly, "but it was a long time ago now, before you were even born, and I'd never be a bad man again" he assured her.

"You promise?" she checked, the look in her eyes very much like her mother when she wasn't quite sure if he was lying or not.

"I promise" he said solemnly.

"Then that's okay" she grinned, reaching forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, so glad she was okay about this but knowing there was still more to tell. Maybe the rest could wait til she was older?

"Daddy?" her little voice said as he picked her up from the counter and carried her to the living room, her dvd in his other hand, "Is it cos you used to be bad that you're not allowed to see the sun?" she asked in all innocence and he nodded.

"Sort of, yeah" he told her, "and there are other things" he decided to tell her, "Like you know how I have to drink special red stuff that you can't have?" she nodded and he continued, just wanting to get all this over with "That's part of it too, and there's one last thing"

As he sat them both down on the couch she looked up at him with wide eyes, waiting for a further revelation. This was the one part that petrified him the most. Words were all very well, but in the end words were all they were, harmless speech that didn't really mean anything much. If she ever saw his game face it was important she understood what that meant, and that she knew he'd never harm her.

"Baby, sometimes the dem..beast" he amended, "sometimes it comes out and it makes Daddy look..scary" he opted for, "but you don't ever have to be afraid, pet, because I'd never, ever hurt you or your mother, okay?"

She nodded but there was a frown on her face.

"Can I see?" she asked, and he could smell slight fear coming from her, but she covered it well. She was a perfect little version of her mother and it was a sight to see.

"You sure?" he checked and when she nodded he twisted his head and his game-face came out. She gasped slightly at her father's transformation but her fear level didn't rise by much. He blinked at her with yellow eyes and the little girl pulled herself up til she was standing on the cushioned seat of the sofa.

Rebecca's little hand reached forward, fingers tracing the bumps across her father's forehead as she studied him. He was so relieved when she smiled.

"Your eyes are all pretty, like Mommy's gold rings" she told him, "and you're not scary" she shook her head, "cos I know you're still Daddy underneath" she told him, throwing herself at him and wrapping her little arms around his neck.

Spike hugged her close, loving what she'd just said to him. He was sure she had no idea how relieved and happy he was right in that moment as he hugged her and his face shifted back, just in time for two tears to roll down human cheeks.

- - - - - - -

"You were really scared that she'd hate you?" Buffy asked Spike with some surprise.

"You and her meant more to me than anything else in the world" he told her, "still do as it goes, and the thought of either of you not wanting me around anymore...I just couldn't bear it" he admitted, almost in tears all over again as he re-counted the event.

"You don't have to bear it" Buffy reminded him, "It all worked out okay. We're both still here, and we love you so much"

"Sometimes I still have trouble believing it, pet" he told her with a sad smile, holding her hand in his and kissing her finger where her wedding-type ring resided "I know I don't deserve this life that I have, and sometimes when I go to sleep I think what if next morning when I wake up...this will all have been just a beautiful dream"

"Oh Spike" she sighed, kissing him tenderly. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

"I promise if you go to sleep now" she told him, "I will still be here in the morning, always...because there's nowhere else I'd ever want to be"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : You know what to do next ;-) Thanx in advance and I'll be back soon...


	6. Chapter 6

A/N : Thanx for the latest reviews - kargrif, Spuffyfan4eva, willowmouse, IceBlueRose, Screeching Dragon, Freezyboncoolipants, Slayergirl1212, Moluvsnumber17. Glad you all seem to be liking the style of this fic with the flashbacks and everything. There is going to be a storyline in the present day too, and that'll lead to more flashbacks. In the meantime here's the latest chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 6

Monday morning at 1630 Revello Drive ran in clockwork fashion as it always did. Buffy was up with the lark to get ready for her early shift at work, almost always about to leave when her husband and daughter emerged from their beds.

"I hate it when you work earlies" Spike complained from the kitchen doorway, watching Buffy dump her breakfast things in the sink and take a mug from the microwave. "The beds all cold without you"

Buffy smiled as she put his mug of blood on the counter for him and walked over to kiss him. Feeling particularly unhappy about letting her go today, Spike held her body tight to his as her hands slid across his chest and all inside his unbuttoned shirt.

A cough from the other door made them spring apart like startled teens before they both glanced over at their daughter. Rebecca looked equal parts amused and grossed out by their display.

"Mornin' Bit" Spike smirked back at her finally releasing Buffy who went over to her daughter.

"Hey sweetie, did you sleep okay?" she checked and Becky nodded, returning the hug her mother gave her.

"I'm okay" she promised, "Not so thrilled about facing school today but, it's not like I did anything really wrong, right?" she checked.

"You defended yourself" Spike told her firmly, "S'nothing wrong with that luv. You made me bloody proud" he told her as he sat down on a stool by the counter and sipped his blood. Buffy pushed a plate of toast towards Becky who sat down beside her Dad.

"Well, I gotta run" the Slayer told them, picking up her purse, "Have a good day" she said going over to kiss her daughter's cheek, "You too, honey" she told Spike, deliberately kissing his cheek and not is lips, and avoiding his hands as they came towards her. If they started that again she really wouldn't want to leave!

"See ya later, luv" he called behind her as she disappeared out of the back door, "So, you really okay?" he said, turning back to Becky, who played with her breakfast.

"I guess" she shrugged, knowing it was impossible to tell anything other than the absolute truth to her Dad, "I'd just rather forget about Ryan and move on, y'know?"

"'Course, pet" Spike smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders and leaning over to kiss the top of her head before they both went back to their food.

"So, is Mark finally gonna tell Stacey he loves her today?" Becky asked after a while. She referred to her father's latest novel that he had been letting her read. For a long time he wondered what his vocation in life would be until one day when he and Buffy were curled up on the couch watching a truly dire episode of Passions. He'd been explaining to Buffy how he would re-write the story and she suggested he write it down, it was so good.

So many years of living in the world meant Spike had such vast knowledge of life, love, the universe, and everything that the fiction he wrote was inspiring and with Giles' help a publisher was soon found for book after book. Up until now, Becky had never been permitted to read them, since she was too young for some of the romantic moments and occasionally some of the more violent scenes, but after much pleading she had been permitted to be the first to read his latest work in progress.

"Guess you'll have to wait and see" Spike smirked as he answered her question, "Never can tell with these hero types what they might do next" he told her, standing up and taking his mug over to the sink to rinse it out.

"Y'know I imagine Mark and Stacey to look just like you and Mom" Becky giggled, "You guys are just so into each other, like nobody else's parents that I know"

Spike wasn't sure how to answer that.

"I love your mother and you more than anything, pet" he said eventually, "and I don't know how to love any other way than to give everything I have"

"I get that" his daughter nodded, "I guess it just makes me think sometimes" she continued, joining him by the sink and bringing her breakfast plate with her, "You two have done so much for each other, given up so much..."

"That's all your Mum" Spike sighed, "She gave up a lot for me but all I had to do was quit being an evil bugger, and that was no hardship when I had she and you to guide me out of the dark" he said, concentrating on the running water and the dishes in the sink, instead of his daughter.

"You gave up one thing at least" she reminded him, and he turned to look at her then, "She is so grateful not to have to grow old alone" she told him, kissing his cheek and picking up her schoolbag, "See you tonight" she smiled as she left.

"See ya, pet" he called behind her, shutting off the faucet and drying his hands on the dishtowel, in a semi-daze as he realised what she meant. He had given up one thing for Buffy, though he never really thought about it much. It was five years ago now...

- - - - - - -

"Buffy?" Spike frowned as he tapped on the bathroom door. She'd been in there quite some time and he'd been starting to worry she was drowning or something.

He was thankful when the door opened and she stepped out wearing her robe.

"Hey" she half-smiled, but he knew something wasn't right.

"You okay, pet?" he asked with a tilt of his head. He thought it best to give her a chance to tell him of her own free will before he pushed her on it.

"Sure, fine" she nodded, squeezing past him to head for the bedroom. Spike followed, shaking his head. After all this time, all that they'd shared, did she really think she could still keep secrets from him?

"Slayer, I know that look" he told her, following her into the bedroom and closing the door behind them, "You are not fine, pet, so save us both some time and effort and tell me what it is" he urged her, as they sat down on the edge of the bed together, "I only want to help, luv" he told her, picking up her hand in his but she drew it away.

"You can't" Buffy mumbled, looking in the opposite direction, "You can't change it...I'm getting old"

"Oh, that's the problem" Spike rolled his eyes, "Yeah, that's dire, pet, really"

"I'm going to be thirty, Spike, in two weeks" Buffy told him dramatically as if it were a life and death matter.

"Yeah" he nodded, "and I'll be _a hundred_ and thirty" he reminded her, "actually a hundred and thirty one in a couple of months" he realised.

"But you don't look it" Buffy sighed and shook her head as she looked down at her hands playing with the ties of her dressing gown, "You're twenty four on the outside Spike, you were before, you are now, and you will always be. Nothing but young and gorgeous forever" she sighed. Spike couldn't help smiling at the compliment, despite the Slayers distress. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her close then.

"You'll always be gorgeous to me, pet, age won't change that. Another ten, twenty years even, you'll still be the most beautiful woman I know. Nothing will have changed"

"Nothing will have changed on you" she corrected, pulling out of his arms and standing up in front of him, "I'll be old Spike, in twenty years I'll be fifty. That is not young, and I won't look good. Pretty soon people are gonna start thinking I'm your mother, or that you're Becky's boyfriend instead of her father"

Spike looked away when he realised how serious she was and how much truth there was in her words. When Rebecca was born and he and Buffy were just starting out together, so in love, they didn't consider the practical elements about how life would be for them. Now the fact he didn't age had been brought up and he had no idea how to resolve such an argument as this.

"You never mentioned any of this before" he said softly, looking at the carpet between his feet.

Buffy immediately felt awful for making him feel bad, but what she was saying was true, Still, it was hardly his fault he wouldn't age as she did.

"I didn't want to have to think about it before" she told him, as she felt tears come to her eyes, "but Spike, it's happening, and you can't stop it. You're immortal, I'm not. I'm going to get old and die one day...vampires don't do that" she said as she came to sit beside him once again. She didn't want this to be a fight, but she was so angry and upset that things wouldn't be all happily ever after like she wanted.

"We could both live eternally, Buffy" Spike told her after a long silence, "All I have to do is..." his fingers brushed her hair away from her neck and she realised all too clearly what he meant.

"No, Spike" she said firmly, pulling back but not running from him. She wasn't afraid of him, not ever, not even since he'd had the chip removed from his head, but she couldn't accept what he was saying. She hated the look on his face then, so hurt that she'd backed away from him. Before his hand could be completely retracted she took hold of it in her own

"Think about what it would mean for Rebecca" she told him, "We couldn't do that to her"

Spike nodded that he understood, but he hated that this problem was so unfixable. He was the head of the family, so to speak, he should be able to solve everything, keep his girls happy.

"There has to be something" he said, almost too himself and Buffy shook her head sadly.

"I don't see that there is" she told him with a sigh, "I guess I'll just have to get used to it...we both will" she said, though she knew it would always be an issue between them.

Two Weeks Later...

"Spike?" Buffy tapped on the bathroom door, a little worried about him now. When she'd gotten home from work he'd barely said hello before he hurried upstairs. When she followed a while later, he disappeared into the bathroom and he'd been there ever since. It was unlike him to be locked away in there for so long, even when they were going out as they were tonight. Of course, there was some comfort in knowing he couldn't have drowned at all, but he seemed to be avoiding her.

"What's up, pet?" he asked with a smile as he came out of the room, all dressed for her birthday party as he should be.

"You've been in there for over an hour and a half" she frowned at how unusual that was and Spike checked his watch.

"Really? Sorry, luv" he kissed her forehand as they headed for the stairs, "At least we're not late" he added as he went down and she followed.

"No, we're not late" she agreed, "I was just kinda worried since you're never in the bathroom so long. I mean, it's not like you have a reflection to..." she looked at him strangely then as he leaned over to pick up his keys from the coffee table. He stopped half way and straightened again.

"What's up?" he asked her as she continued to look at him oddly.

"I don't know" Buffy shook her head, coming around the table towards him, "You look different somehow...did you do something different with your hair or what?" she asked, thinking it looked pretty much the same as always, but something was definitely different.

Spike sighed.

"I wasn't gonna tell you yet" he admitted, "It's sort of your birthday present"

"I don't understand" Buffy's frown deepened and Spike sat down in the armchair behind them, sitting her down on his lap. She was starting to worry now, he could almost feel her shaking in his arms and there was a slight smell of fear coming off her.

"I had a talk with Red and Glinda" he explained, "Took some work but they did a bit of mojo for me. Not so much of a fan of it always but it's nothing dangerous" he assured her, squeezing her hand in his, "S'called a glamour, luv, and it's on me...changing me"

"Changing you?" Buffy still didn't understand, "How?" she checked, still obviously worried about all this.

"I'm gonna grow old, luv, at least it'll look like I am. The Wiccas wired the spell up to you somehow. I'll age at the same rate you do, or on the outside at least it'll seem that way" he told her with a hopeful smile, he really wanted her to be happy about this. He was so sure that it was what she wanted, but so far she didn't look exactly what one would called impressed. Her hand when to his face, finger running down his cheek.

"Why, Spike?" she asked him, "Why would anyone want to look older?"

"It's for you, luv" he smiled, bringing his hand up to cover her own, "I did it for you and for Becky" he admitted, kissing her hand, "I don't wanna be an embarrassment when you and she are getting older, and I won't have you feeling bad either. This is my gift to you" he smiled, "or part of it at least. The other half is here" he added as he rached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

He passed it to Buffy and with shaking hands she opened it to reveal a gold eternity ring, studded with rubies and tiny diamonds.

"Oh Spike" she gasped "it's a beautiful gift" she cried as she leaned in to hug him tight and he smiled.

"The ring, or the spell?" he wanted to know and she was grinning and crying at the same time when she pulled back to look at him

"Both" she declared before kissing him soundly, "Both are...they're just perfect, William, thankyou. I love you so much" she told him before they kissed again.

"I love you too, pet" he promised her, taking the ring from the box and slipping it onto her finger, "Always will"

- - - - - - -

Spike sighed as he finshed off drying the dishes and filed them away in the cupboard where they belonged. He headed for the living room and turned on his laptop as he settled down on the couch to write. He skim read through the half chapter he'd already written yesterday and smiled to himself. Yes, Mark would confess his love for Stacey today, he thought, and though they might not live happily ever after, his love for her would sustain him for the rest of time.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Well, I did promise to resolve the issue of vampires not aging, and there it is. Hope you liked the chapter and would love to know your opinions via reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N : Thanks to; Amandamanda3, kargrif, Chris, Lucky-112, pixiecorn, Mr Lennox I pressume, Bridge, Slayergirl1212, reesa, Screeching Dragon, Freezyboncoolipants, PltnmDancer, Moluvsnumber17, Spuffyfan4eva, spuffy4eva, Lindsay, for the latest reviewers. As to the glamour issues, the glamour ages Spike at the same rate that Buffy ages and when she dies the spell breaks - apologies if that wasn't clear. Hope you like the new chapter :-)  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 7

"Rough day at the office, pet?" Spike asked as Buffy came in the front door and sighed heavily.

"Not really" she shrugged, "I'm just tired" she told him as she came to sit beside him on the couch and he put his laptop down on the coffee table so he could hold her.

"S'all that talking you did last night" he told her, putting his arms around her kissing the top of her head, "Can't miss out on your sleep, not at your age" he joked and she swatted him in the chest.

"Hey, no age jokes from the guy that remembers the Industrial Revolution" she complained, but she was smiling anyway, "Isn't Becky home?" she asked, checking her watch. Her daughter should have got back just a half hour before her, she always did when Buffy worked early.

"She went straight to her room" Spike told her, "I was gonna go up, see if she was okay, but I thought maybe being a bloke issue she might fancy a chat with her Mum instead" he suggested.

"You're kidding me" Buffy rolled her eyes as she got up, "Like she'd ever choose anyone over you, she is such a Daddy's girl" she smiled, though she had to admit sometimes she was a little jealous.

"She loves her Mum, and you know it" Spike gave her look and she sighed.

"I know" she agreed, leaning down to kiss him, "See what we have in the kitchen for dinner, would you? And I'll go see what's up with the Bit" she smiled, using his term for their daughter. He was about to reply when Rebecca herself came thundering down the stairs.

"I was just coming up to see if you were okay" Buffy told her and her daughter smiled.

"I'm fine, I swear" she promised both her parents. Neither looked especially convinced, "Yes, okay, school was a little tough. Ryan's telling people that I'm both a tease and a maniac, but I can deal"

"Little sod" Spike seethed, "I'd like to rip his lungs out"

"Spike, please" Buffy gave him a look that shut him up, "The boy might have done wrong but he's not evil in the real sense, he's just a dumb teenager with way too many hormones"

"She's right Dad" Rebecca agreed, "Besides, I kinda like that some people are actually scared of me now" she giggled as she came to sit beside her father on the couch.

"Feels good, don't it, pet?" Spike smirked and she nodded.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she took his place on the couch and he went to find something for dinner like he'd said he would.

"Mom, if I get all my homework done" Becky asked, "Could I go patrolling with Dad tonight?"

Buffy considered it. She and Spike had been training Rebecca for years now, teaching her how to fight and be a Slayer. They always gave her the option of how much she learnt and never forced her into anything. For the most part she seemed to enjoy it all and a few months ago they'd allowed her to go on patrol with Buffy. She did so well and was always careful, and most times when she asked she was permitted to join her parents or the other Scoobies when they went out to stake the undeads of Sunnydale.

"You don't wanna stay in and eat ice-cream?" Buffy smirked, "That's what your average teenage girl is supposed to do when a guy messes her around y'know"

"I'm not an average girl, Mom" Becky smiled, "and neither were you. Personally I like a little violence before bedtime to get over a stressful day" she told her before heading off to the kitchen to find her Dad.

Buffy shook her head and almost laughed as she got up and followed her. She may look like her, but there was no mistaking that Becky was Spike's girl too.

- - - - - - -

Rebecca stepped back, breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight but also smirking with satisfaction as she watched her opponent fall at her feet as so much ash and dust. She turned to see her father smiling at her as he smoked his cigarette.

"Y'know I've fought some Slayers in my time" he told her, walking over from the tree he'd been leaning on "but I wouldn't fancy being on the receiving end of the punishment you dole out, luv" he said as they resumed walking through the cemetery, Spike ever mindful to blow his smoke away from his daughter.

"Well, I have you and Mom to thank for that" Becky reminded him and he nodded, throwing the butt of his spent cigarette to the ground and crushing it under his boot.

"You enjoy it though, don't you?" he was pleased to realise, he was fairly certain she mostly earned that attribute from him.

"What's not to enjoy about the slayage?" came her answer "Fighting evil, guaranteed stress relief, good work out for the body - all of the good" she counted on her fingers and Spike shook his head.

"Makes me wonder why we were ever worried about telling you that you were a Slayer..."

- - - - - - -

"...and I know you didn't mean it but Becky, sweetheart, we went over this before, fighting isn't cool"

Spike caught the tail end of what Buffy was saying to their daughter as they came in the front door and he winced. Another fight at school or so it seemed, and with Becky being a Slayer, a bit of playground rough and tumble could easily result in some nasty injuries when she was involved. It was getting more and more difficult to deal with and as Buffy came into the living room she gave him a look that said now was the time to tell their daughter the truth.

At the age of four Becky had been told that Mommy went out at night to keep the world safe by fighting monsters and that Daddy sometimes did the same. Last year she'd taken the fact that Spike was in essence half-monster fairly well but still they had not imparted the truth of her own destiny.

Buffy wanted to wait until she was older, so she said, though Spike was fairly certain that, as ridiculous as it was, Buffy was hoping if they waited long enough they wouldn't have to deal. That like some illness or something the Slayer powers their daughter possessed would just be cured and disappear.

However, since the little girl had started school there had been two incidents of fights in which a couple of kids had got hurt, just because the mini Slayer did not know her own strength. The only way to teach her the kind of control she must have was to explain why she possessed such power and how it should be used only for good.

"Hey Bit" Spike smiled as his little girl ran to him and was gladly lifted up onto his lap, "Don't tell me you've been scrapping with your mates again"

"Joey said a mean thing" she defended herself, looking thoroughly ashamed as she always did when Daddy looked at her _that_ way, "I told him to stop but he wouldn't so I pushed him and he hit the wall across the room" she admitted. Spike shared a look with Buffy, thinking perhaps the little one was exaggerating, but Buffy nodded that her daughter spoke the truth.

"Several feet into solid brick" the older Slayer sighed as she sat down beside Spike, "Thankfully nothing got broken, which is kind of a miracle"

Tears came to Rebecca's eyes as she saw her parents share another serious look. She worried what would happen next, the teacher had yelled at her a lot and Joey's mother had yelled at Buffy, she didn't want anyone to yell at her anymore.

"I didn't mean to be so bad" she sniffed, "I didn't mean it, Daddy"

"You're not bad, baby" Spike told her, pulling her close and rubbing her back as she cried. Buffy moved closer to the pair and ran her fingers through her daughter blonde hair.

"It's not your fault, sweetie" she promised her, "It's just...well, me and your Dad have something we have to tell you"

Rebecca looked up from Spike's chest at her mother, still sniffing.

"Becky, you remember how we told you that Mommy has a special job" she said gently and the little girl nodded, rubbing at her watery eyes with her hands, "Well, to do my special job I have to be very strong, and because you're my special little girl, you're strong too" she tried to explain, hoping she was making a good job of it.

"Am I supposed to fight monsters too?" she asked Spike and he smiled down at her.

"Maybe one day, luv, when you're all grown up" he told her gently, "but even then only if you want to"

"The point is" Buffy continued, calling back Becky's attention, "when you get mad at the other kids at school and you push them or something, they're not strong like you and they get hurt, even when you don't mean for them to"

"See, that's the bad part of being special" Spike tried to help, but it was difficult to explain such things to a small child, "You have to be extra careful and you also can't tell anyone just how special you are"

"It's a secret?" she checked, "Like Mommy being a superhero and you have a beast inside?" she said with a tilt of a head that was all Spike.

"That's right, sweetie" Buffy nodded, so worried that the child would not understand or worse hate what she was being told. She was relieved when Becky smiled and reached to hug her mother.

"When I grow up, I'll be just like you Mommy" she grinned and tears came to Buffy's eyes. Her child actually wanted to be like her, and though she knew the likelihood was such feelings would not last forever, she revelled in them now. There had been too many times in her childhood when even Buffy herself had not wanted to be her.

"Hey" Spike complained, tapping his little girl on the shoulder with semi-fake irritation, "What happened to a hug for dear old Dad, eh?"

Both Buffy and Becky were smiling to the point of laughter as they turned and flung themselves at Spike, knocking him back onto the couch.

Far from his past of killing Slayers, Spike was elated to have these two in his unlife. They were all he needed.

- - - - - - -

"I don't blame Mom for my being a Slayer" Becky told her father as they continued their patrol "it's not her fault she was Chosen or the Scoobies fault that their spell went wonky and I got the power too...Sometimes no-one is to blame" she shrugged "Sometimes stuff just happens"

"You didn't always think that way" Spike told her, the recent nostalgia amongst the family had him recalling some less pleasant events as well as good ones. Becky looked at him strangely, her expression telling him she didn't understand at all. Spike smirked to himself.

"You forget so easily, luv" he said, glancing over at her "things that you'd rather not remember"

It was the way he said it and the look in his eyes that finally triggered something in her head and Rebecca felt awful just thinking about it. She stopped walking and looked at him seriously.

"Oh, Dad, that was..." she began but he interrupted.

"Doesn't matter now, baby" he told her, pushing her blonde hair back off her face affectionately "I'm not still bent out of shape about it, but it's not the kind of thing a father forgets..."

- - - - - - -

"How was your day honey?" Buffy asked as her daughter came into the kitchen after school. Rebecca shrugged her shoulders as she put her bag on the counter and sat down.

"It was okay" she said vaguely, and Buffy knew immediately something was wrong. Becky was usually so animated about what she'd done in her day, or at least irate about something bad. She was never so without feeling.

"Okay, what's up?" Buffy sighed, wiping her hands on a dish towel and coming to sit opposite her daughter.

"We have to do this assignment for English class" Rebecca admitted, "Everyone has to give a talk about one or both of their parents and the jobs they do"

"Oh" Buffy, looked down at her hands and Becky felt bad.

"I know it's not your fault" she said with a shake of her head, "With the whole Slayer deal it meant college was a lot harder and you can't get the best job cos you don't have all the fancy qualifications...but you save the world, and even if I can't tell anyone about it, that makes it okay"

"So, why so grumpy?" the Slayer frowned, not understanding.

"Beth's Dad is a lawyer" Becky sighed, "Sandy's Dad's a doctor, Theresa's is a fire-fighter...mine's a freak" she said bitterly and Buffy snapped.

"You do not talk about your father that way!" she said sternly, face getting redder by the second as anger rushed through her veins "He might be different, but..."

"Different?" Becky almost laughed at that, "How do I even begin to explain to my friends that my father has a sun allergy, fear of crosses, and oh yeah, he also drinks blood"

"Rebecca Joyce Blackwell" Buffy snapped, knowing if it was anyone other than her thirteen year old daughter speaking this way about Spike, she'd be tearing them limb from limb right now, "Spike may be different but he's still your father and my husband and..."

"No he's not!" the young girl raved, "You can't even get married cos he doesn't exist!"

"Funny" said a voice from the door, "but I feel very much here for someone who doesn't exist"

Both Buffy and Rebecca turned to look at Spike who leant casually in the doorway.

"Oh, I'm sorry" he feigned an apology, "Did the freak interrupt your little argument?"

Though he appeared fairly nonchalant about his daughters comments, Buffy knew it must have killed him inside to hear those words.

The pain in his eyes was visible to Becky, though he'd tried to hide it. It had seemed okay when she said it, called him a freak, but now he was standing here repeating it back to her, it sounded so much worse. She felt sick.

"Daddy, I'm sorry, I..." she began but he cut her off sharply.

"Oh it's Daddy now is it?" he snapped, "Think that makes it right, do you, pet?"

Tears filled Rebecca's eyes at his cold tone. He never spoke to her this way, so icy like he really meant to make her suffer. Not even when she'd misbehaved as a little kid and needed a stern telling off had he been like this with her.

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded" she cried and Buffy did the same.

If his daughter's words had hurt him, her tears as well as the Slayers was worse. He closed his eyes so he didn't have to see it and expelled a breath he didn't need.

"I know that" he said calmly, "but, sweetheart, you don't know what it's like for me" he tried to explain as he walked across the room and came to sit on the stool beside her. Buffy watched the whole thing, trying to keep herself from sobbing.

"Y'see pet, all I've really got is you and your Mum" he told her, "You two being in my life, needing me, loving me, it's what keeps me going. If I thought I'd lost you, if you didn't need me or didn't want me around anymore..."

"I do" she dared to interrupt, "I don't even know why I said those things"

"You said them cos they're true, luv" he told her gently, putting his hand on hers on the counter, "I know what I am, what I was too which is even less pleasant. I don't need you to remind me. And believe me, pet, I'd love to be a proper Dad like your mates have got. I'd love to go to the beach with you when it's sunny, and have a fancy job so you could be proud of me, and a flash car that'd make all your friends jealous, but I can't"

"None of that matters" she cried, more tears falling down her cheeks, "You're the best Dad in the world and I wouldn't trade you for anything"

It brought a lump to Spike's throat as she flung herself forward into his arms and hugged him tight. He hugged her back and blinked back a few tears before turning to Buffy who smiled and cried at the same time.

- - - - - - -

"Felling better, honey?" Buffy asked her daughter as she returned from patrol with Spike.

"Definitely" Becky smiled as she removed her jacket, "but I think I should go get some sleep now" she moved toward the stairs but paused half way up and turned back.

"I love you guys" she told her parents solemnly, "You know that right?"

"Course pet" Spike was quick to answer.

"We love you too" Buffy added with a smile.

Becky just nodded before disappearing up the stairs to her room.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Please review and give your opinions, I do love to read them. More coming soon :-)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N : Thanx to; kargrif, Amandamanda3, spuffy4eva, pixiecorn, Freezyboncoolipants, ms trick, ressa, Spuffyfan4eva, Screeching Dargon, Carol, Bridge, velja, Moluvsnumber17, spikespet2002, MaidenRo, for the latest reviews. To Bakaman and anyone else bored of the fluff, as promised there will be some Big Bad action v. soon, I just have a lot of back-story to deal with as well as the present. However, there will still be fluff, especially of the Spuffy kind, since that was my main starting point for this whole fic. I owe it to everyone that read Our Little Secret to have much happy Spuffy love in this sequel. Now, without further ado, here's the new chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 8

Rebecca had just left the High School grounds on Tuesday when her cellphone sprang into life. She pulled it from her bag as she waved goodbye to her friends who walked off in the opposite direction.

"Hey Mom" she frowned slightly wondering why her mother would be calling her right now. She'd be home and see her in just a few minutes, it meant something was up.

"Sweetie, Giles called an emergency Scooby meeting" she told her daughter, "Your Dad's taking the tunnels to the Magic Box and I'm almost there, the rest of the gang got there a while ago"

"How come the Slayer is the last to arrive?" Rebecca thought that was kind of strange and Buffy was glad that she couldn't be seen to blush via the phone.

"Your Dad and me, we kinda didn't hear the phone..." she said, voice disappearing into nothing and Rebecca quickly changed the subject.

"So, you want me at the magic shop, yes?" she checked.

"Yes, but could you stop by the school and walk over with Josh?" Buffy asked, "Cordy and Xander were already there when it all went red alert and since you're walking right by..."

"It's fine, Mom" Becky smiled before they both said their goodbye's and hung up.

Another near apocalypse, or so it seemed. Becky had seen so many already and always wondered at how every single Scooby came through relatively unscathed.

Of course not all apocalypses were started by demons and evil people, she thought as a smile came to her lips. It felt as if World War Three would break out when Aunt Cordy and Uncle Xander's wedding was approaching. Still, the day itself had been beautiful, and despite the fact she had only been five years old, Becky remembered it like yesterday.

"Hold still, Xand" Buffy told him sternly as she tried to help him tie his tie.

"I can't help it, Buff" he apologised, "It's just, oh my God, I'm getting married" he grinned as she finished off the bow around his neck.

"Is Aunt Cordy having a baby?" little Rebecca asked from the chair nearby and Xander looked panicked.

"Geez, I hope not" his eyes were comically wide with alarm and Spike smirked at his daughter.

"Why would you say that, baby?" he asked the girl who made a face before answering.

"Cos Mommy said men and ladies get married when they love each other and she also said when they love each other they have babies...so when people get married they're usually having babies, right?" her expression faltered between a smile and a frown as she worried whether she'd messed up what she meant to say or said something naughty.

"Sometimes it works that way, honey" Buffy smiled, walking over to the chair and picking her daughter up off it, standing the child on her feet, "but not this time"

"You sure about that?" Xander asked his best friend and Buffy tried not to laugh at his expression.

"Course she's bloody sure" Spike told him, growing tired of this now, "And if she's not I am. I'd know if she was having a sprog, change in scent maybe or hearin' double heartbeats when it's quiet..." he was interrupted by the door opening to reveal Willow and Tara.

"Mind if we switch?" the red-head asked Spike and Buffy who carried Becky in her arms, "Cordy's gone into hyper fashion mode and I kinda wanna wish my guy good luck" she smiled at Xander as the little family left the room.

"Er, maybe you should wait out here" Buffy considered as she moved to open the door to the bride's room and changed her mind half-way, "I don't know how dressed she'll be"

"How about me and the little one go check on the guests" Spike nodded, holding out his arms to take the five year old from the Slayer.

Buffy handed her over, kissing Spike on the cheek before disappearing into Cordy's room.

"You all ready to do your bridesmaid bit, little one" he asked his daughter as carried her through to the hall where the guests waited patiently for the wedding ceremony to begin.

"Uh-huh" she nodded, "I'm gonna walk down the aisle with Aunt Cordy and hold her pretty flowers while she marries Uncle Xander" she grinned, "Mommy said everybody'll wish they had a job as important as mine, and that I look super pretty in my dress"

"That you do, little love" he smiled, setting her down on the ground and kneeling down in front of her, "Prettiest girls here, you and your Mum" he told her, "Just don't tell your Aunt Cordy that, okay?"

Becky nodded, still grinning as she looked around at the flowers that adorned the room and all the other guests in their pretty clothes. It was like a fairytale and she hoped one day when she was big she would have a special day like this, that was just for her.

- - -- - - - -

Becky was still grinning at her memories when she crossed over the road to meet her cousin. Of course he wasn't her true cousin by blood, anymore than her aunts and uncles were her parents siblings, but they were family in a bigger sense that blood ties and they mattered more to each other than they ever thought possible.

It was ironic to think that Cordy had in fact been pregnant on her and Xander's wedding day, though neither of them had realised it. When it was announced after the couples honeymoon everyone had been surprised how well Xander had taken it, given how worried he'd seemed about the prospect of kids at his wedding, but when it actually happened, he was so thrilled to know he was going to be a Daddy.

"Hey Joshua!" Becky called when she caught sight of him, only grinning wider when he scowled at the use of his full name. Everybody called him Josh, from parents to teachers to school friends. He was only Joshua when he was in trouble or when Becky was teasing him. As she frequently reminded him though, that's what cousins were for. That and saving your ass when you got yourself in trouble.

"I told you not to call me that" the almost eleven year old complained as Becky reached his side. A couple of his friends looked at her in a most disconcerting way for small boys to look at a girl and she rolled her eyes.

"Josh, we have to get going" she told him, "Family crisis, y'know?" she told him with a look and he nodded his understanding.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow" he told his friends as he swung his bag onto his back and walked away with Becky.

"It's a Scooby meeting, right?" he checked as they came back across the street and headed for the Magic Box, "Is it really bad?" he worried.

"I dunno yet" Becky told him honestly, "But y'know whatever it is, we can deal" she gave him a reassuring smile, "We got Slayers, vampires, witches, and most important of all ordinary people who'll risk it all to help save the world. How could we possibly fail?" she said more confidently than she felt. She heard too many stories of her parents near death experiences as well as those of her friends and family. It didn't help knowing that being the youngest, one day she and Josh would be forced to stand alone - the new generation of Scoobies.

Becky was in such a daze thinking about it that she didn't stop at the edge of the road when Josh did, and a car would have hit her if not for the drivers superior reaction times, and her cousins hand that grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Geez, and they think I need a baby sitter to walk me home" Josh sighed before turning to the driver of the car, "Hey Michael"

"Hey Josh, how's my favourite student?" the young man grinned and Becky soon found she was in a whole different kind of daze when she spotted him. He was undeniably the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen in her life!

"I'm fine" she heard Josh answer, "but I might have to skip it this week, family stuff" he shrugged and Michael didn't ask anymore questions. He was a new friend of Xander's after recently starting working on the same site. He'd mentioned his love of playing the guitar and Josh had been begging for lessons for months and so his wish had been granted and every Wednesday night the boy got taught by Michael. Unfortunately, Josh was beginning to think he wouldn't get past the basics before the world ended!

"Well, keep a tight hold of you friend there" Michael glanced briefly at Becky who could do nothing but stare, "and get your Dad to call me about your lesson"

"No problem" Josh waved goodbye as his friend drove off and he rolled his eyes as Becky's gaze stayed locked onto the back of the car till it disappeared from sight.

"That's Michael?" she asked with some astonishment when she resumed walking towards the Magic Box with her cousin.

"Yeah" Josh nodded, giving her a look, "Whats the big?"

"You didn't tell me your guitar tutor was Michael Morris!" she said, swatting him across the arm.

"Ow!" he cried, rubbing the area she'd hit, "Slayer strength!" he reminded her to be more careful and she looked suitably apologetic when she replied.

"I'm sorry but, my God, I haven't seen him since I was nine and he was twelve" she sighed at the sweet childhood memory, "I wanted to marry him"

Josh faked vomiting as they arrived outside the magic shop but quickly stopped when Becky looked daggers at him. His arm still ached from her last playful blow.

"Ah, Rebecca, Josh, I'm glad you're here" Giles told them as they arrived.

Both young people knew the conversation before their arrival must have been intense by the way their parents were so eager to hug them.

"Dad, Becky says she wants to marry Michael" Josh complained to Xander who looked over at the girl as Spike hugged her.

"I did not!" she defended herself as everyone looked at her with amused expressions, "I just...I didn't know that his Michael, was my Michael, as in the guy I thought I was in love with at age nine!"

"Oh, Michael Morris" Buffy gasped, remembering all too well her little girls' crush.

"Oh Mom, I just saw him and it was like, I can't even tell you" Becky enthused, "I thought I'd forgotten him but he is so gorgeous, all these feelings came rushing back..."

"Mom, please make her stop" Josh complained but Cordelia just smiled.

"One day, little man, you might understand what she's talking about" she told him, "I know I do"

She shared a look with Xander then that the kids would never fully understand, but the rest of the Scoobies understood only too well.

- - - - - - - -

Xander and Anya were a few feet from their apartment, both too physically and emotionally exhausted to say a word. Just a few hours ago the Scooby gang had taken on the hell-god Glory and won, thankfully without any major casualties on their side.

A brief celebration had followed, really just a de-brief and a chance to patch up minor wounds as they reflected on how lucky they'd been. After that they all headed to their separate homes, but there was a surprise waiting for Xander and Anya.

"Excuse me?" Xander frowned when he found a young woman sitting outside his apartment, her back leant against the door, knees pulled up to her chest and face hidden.

When she glanced up at the sound of his voice, he couldn't believe who it was.

"Cordelia?" he gasped, dropping to his knees beside her, "What are you doing here?" he wondered, "Are you okay?"

Anya looked on, possibly even more confused than her boyfriend.

"It's kind of a long story" Cordy shrugged, "I just, things got complicated in LA and I...truth is I didn't have anywhere else to go" she said sadly, looking down at the floor.

It was true that she and Xander had never been the best of friends, even when they were going out all they really did was make out and fight. Their break-up had been painful but after that he'd made an effort, even paying for her Prom dress for her. When she left Sunnydale they had a proper goodbye, even shared one last kiss, but that was supposed to be the end of it.

Anya cleared her throat and Xander looked between his old and current girlfriends.

"Oh, Ahn, you remember Cordelia Chase?" he said awkwardly, "And Cordy, Anya Jenkins"

The two girls looked at each other as Cordy got to her feet, grabbing hold of her backpack as she did so.

It was strange to Xander, to see Miss Chase in plain pants and sweatshirt top. No labels, no fancy accessories, something was more wrong than she was admitting.

"I should go" she said turning away, "I don't know why I came here"

"Where will you go?" Xander asked her back as she went to walk away. She stopped but didn't turn back.

"I don't know" she admitted quietly and Xander spared Anya a glance before speaking again.

"Stay here" he told his ex-girlfriend who looked back at him with some surprise, "It's been a long few days lately but, after the night I've had I don't think I could sleep anyway" he smiled slightly, "Come in, tell us what's up, okay?" he told her and after a moment the brunette girl nodded in agreement.

As Xander unlocked the door and let the two women inside he took an uneven breath before following them. Until he'd seen her, he'd forgotten how much he'd really cared for Cordelia, maybe even how much he still cared for her now. He had no idea she was thinking the exact same thing, regardless of the fact another woman literally stood between them.

It was three hours later, and Anya had fallen asleep on the couch some time ago. Still Cordelia and Xander sat talking about old times, laughing and arguing playfully over high school feuds. He'd caught her up on life in Sunnydale, though a lot of it she already knew, and now it was time for her to admit her reason for showing up on his doorstep tonight.

"C'mon Cor, spill it" he urged her, "I know something is seriously up for you to show up at my door" he half-smiled and she watched the bubbles on top of her latest mug of coffee as they floated around.

"It started with Faith" she admitted, "Angel spends so much time with her, helping her. I kinda get it, I do, but since Doyle...went away" she swallowed hard, "It was harder anyway, everything started to come apart. Wes showed up, then Faith. They're fighters, Xand, and I was just Vision girl...You know how hard it is to be on the outside of the Power circle" she told him and he nodded sadly that he understood all too well.

"But like you said, you're Vision girl" he reminded her, "That doesn't help?"

Cordy shook her head and put her mug down on the table.

"Not anymore" she told her ex-boyfriend, "I _was_ all vision-y but...some demon did a spell, overloaded me with intense visions til I went comatose...when everything got fixed, my visions were gone"

"That's good though, right?" Xander frowned, "No more pain and stuff"

"Yeah, no more pain" Cordy half-smiled, "No more special-gal status" she added with even less enthusiasm and Xander felt bad for her. He glanced over at Anya who slept soundly still, before reaching out a hand to cover that of his ex-girlfriend.

"You'll always be special, Cordy" he told her softly, "I've never met another woman like you, and I never will"

She smiled at that, it really helped to hear that at least someone cared, even if it was Xander Harris, but then maybe she'd judged him too harshly before. Her time in LA had forced her to grow up fast and she realised better now what she'd really had when Xander loved her. If only it were not too late to go back.

- - - - - - - -

"Yes, well" Giles cleared his throat as the assmebled Scoobies all took a seat, "As much fun as this talk of boys is, we do have something rather more pressing to discuss"

"It's another apocalypse, right?" Rebecca sighed, now resigned to the fact that despite it's closeness, she might not make it to her sixteenth birthday after all.

"We might not be talking about the end of the world just yet" the old Watcher told her with a half-smile, but that expression soon disappeared as he glanced at Joyce and she nodded.

"You have to tell them Rupert" she said sadly, knowing already how bad it was.

"C'mon Giles, I don't handle suspense well" Buffy urged him and the Watcher sighed.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : If you liked this then please review, and if you didn't, please review anyway and let me know what was wrong (I hope nothing was!) Also please note, I have posted a Christmas Special fic related to verse of this fic. There will be two more Xmas fics added soon, hopefully in the next few days. I would obviously apprecaite all opinions on these fics to, so if you read, please remember to review.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N : Woah, it's been a while guys, and I'm really sorry about the lack of updateyness! But here I am with a real big chapter for you which I hope will go someway towards making up for the lateness. Thanx so much to all the latest reviewers; MaidenRo, kargrif, Spuffyfan4eva, Screeching Dragon, freezyboncoolipants, pixiecorn, Kez, GoldenAngl99, PltnmDancer, Ape18, Moluvsnumber17, Lindsay, sheilamarie, ayruh, buffwill - you all rock entirely! Here's the new chapter, hope you like it...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 9

"C'mon Giles, I don't handle suspense well" Buffy urged him and the Watcher sighed. He always hated imparting news of impending doom, and as the years went on he found it more and more difficult to tell the expanding group of Scoobies that the end of the world may very well be nigh.

"I'm afraid signs indicate that a demon is going to try to open the Hellmouth" he said eventually, dangling his glasses from his fingers and pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to re-focus his eyes. Too many hours of checking book after book had done him no favours.

"Didn't we deja this vu already?" Rebecca asked with a frown, "Demons, hellmouth openage, we stopped it before we can do it again, right?" she shrugged as if it were nothing. She'd seen enough danger and apocalypse situations they were less of a big these days.

"It's not as simple as that, dear" Joyce told her grand-daughter gently and Giles nodded.

"Indeed. The creature that is coming was thought to be extinct, as a great many old demons are" he went on to explain, referring briefly to a book on the counter beside him "This one was not dead, just frozen in time as it were and now it has risen again, one last specimen, hell-bent on sucking the whole world into, well, hell"

"But we can deal, right Giles?" Xander attempted a positive attitude as Cordy got a tight hold of their son's hand, and the rest of the gang looked to Giles for an answer that didn't come.

"Yeah, I mean, sure it won't be a walk in the cemetery" Willow agreed with her best friend "but with magic and weapons and superpowers..."

"Willow, I admire your positive attitude" Giles told her as he took a seat at the table "but no ordinary human could stand against such an enemy, and magic would be next to useless against the Joh'ran Katama"

"What about us non-humans?" Buffy asked, "Me and Becky are Slayers, and Spike's a vampire, we could probably..."

"I'm no use to you, luv" Spike shook his head sadly and all eyes in the room turned to him, barring Giles and Joyce that already knew why he felt so bad.

"But Dad, you can beat anything" Becky was astonished by her father's attitude, he was always up for a fight "I've seen it myself and you've told me..."

"Not the Joh'ran" he told her, and several members of the assembled group wondered, given his expression, whether he was either going to throw something heavy or cry like a child.

Spike just wished Buffy and Rebecca would stop staring at him as they were now, everyone else he could handle but to let them down, it was just unbearable.

"Giles, will you tell them" he said, closing his eyes against the rest of the room. The girls looked to the Watcher for a response and everyone else's attention switched in the same direction.

"The, er, the Joh'ran Katama secretes a poison" Giles explained "and although it causes no harm to humans it has an effect on vampires...a deadly effect"

"But poisons have antidotes" Tara piped up "If the worst happened and Spike got infected couldn't we find a cure?"

"Perhaps" Giles nodded "but it truly is an awesome risk. This demon is so old and ancient, the formulae to any antidote would be well lost by now"

Buffy didn't know what to say as she glanced back at her silent husband. The rest of the gang continued the conversation.

"So I guess we need backup" Cordy realised "More powerful people?"

"Like another Slayer" Willow agreed "We should call Faith"

"And Angel still has extra strength" Tara recalled "even if he is human now, the Shanshu meant human but with powers..."

"I can't do this" Spikes chair scraped against the floor as he got up and stormed out of the back door of the Magic Box.

"Daddy!" Rebecca called after him, knowing he was hurting and hating that she couldn't help. She made to go after him but Buffy caught her arm and held her back.

The sound of his daughter's voice, so young and fragile made Spike wince, a memory speeding back to the surface that he'd sooner not recall right now, but his mind refused to comply with the wishes of his breaking heart.

- - - - - - -

"Daddy, what's wrong with Sean's shoe?" Becky's brow wrinkled in both confusion and concentration, "Did he lose it?" she tried but Spike really wasn't paying proper attention as he watched Buffy almost drop the phone in her hands.

Just moments ago that same phone had rung and on answering it Buffy had found it was Faith. She had news for her sister Slayer, and she was uncertain as to which way it would be taken.

Angel's side had suffered greatly in the latest almost-apocalypse to rock LA, the biggest casualty of all being the souled vampire himself who had been dusted by the enemy. The real shock had come when Angel had returned from the dead, no longer a vampire but a real live human being. It seemed the Shanshu prophecy had finally come to pass.

"Daddy!" Rebecca tugged on the bottom of her fathers jeans and he finally seemed to notice she was there.

"Becky, luv, I need to talk to your Mum" he told her, when suddenly the doorbell rang, "Bugger" he cursed under his breath when it was clear Buffy wasn't moving and since it was the middle of the day he was going to have to be careful answering the door. He managed to duck behind it as he opened it, and was relieved when he heard Becky shriek that it was Aunt Cordy.

"Hey sweetie, where's Mom and Dad?" she asked, hugging the child that ran at her.

"Dad's behind the door trying not to fry you silly bint" Spike called angrily and Cordelia hurried inside carrying Becky in her arms.

"Geez Spike, I know you don't have to breathe but calm it down" she told him as she closed the door and sighed heavily, "Am I missing something?" Cordy asked with a slight frown as she glanced between the look on Spikes face and Buffy's own expression as she stood in the hallway seemingly unaware of anything around her.

"Do us a favour, luv" Spike asked her, "take the little bit upstairs for a while"

Cordelia was about to ask what the hell was going on but the look on Spike's face told her now was not the time.

"Okay" she nodded once, "Hey Becky, why don't we go up to your room and I'll braid your hair like I promised before"

"Yeah! Yeah!" the little girl clapped and grinned excitedly as Cordelia carried her off and Spike turned to Buffy, walking down the hallway toward her.

"You alright, pet?" he checked.

Angel getting his Shanshu changed things, he knew that, and he'd dreaded this day. Now his old grand-sire was a real boy, nothing could stand in his way. He knew Buffy had spent so long wishing she and Angel were regular people so they could be together, now he was, and despite the fact she was practically married to him, Spike was feeling more than a little insecure. He could tell just from the sound of Faith's voice on the phone that she was uncertain of a lot of things too.

"Angel is human" Buffy said shakily, "He's actually alive" she turned to look at him then, before bursting into tears and going into his waiting arms.

Spike was a little surprised by her reaction, and wrongly assumed she was upset to have not waited longer for her first true love before settling for him instead.

"I know what he means to you Buffy" he said stiffly, fighting his own tears, "I know how long you waited for..." he just couldn't speak anymore. The thought of losing her and Becky was just about the one thing in the world that scared him even more to death. Just knowing Buffy wished she could leave him for his grade-sire made him want to cry like a ponce, something he realised he was doing anyway.

"It's not fair" the Slayer sobbed into his shoulder and he was desperate not to break down completely, but she was killing him with her words.

"I'm sorry, luv" he forced out, holding her close and rubbing her back with his hand. He loved her too much to find her suffering bearable at all. This coupled with the fear of her next words being something in the realms of goodbye made him feel sick.

"Why are you sorry?" she surprised him when she brought her head up off his shoulder and looked into his eyes, sniffing and crying still "It's not your fault the Powers chose the wrong guy for their stupid prophecy" she told him, bringing a hand to his cheek to wipe away tears she saw there, "You've done so much good and without being forced to...it's not fair" she repeated, "It should've been you"

"Should've been...?" Spike frowned at her words, not understanding. He'd been so certain she was crying for the loss of one she was too late to claim, or possibly out of the guilt she felt in knowing she was about to leave the father of her child behind. It seemed though that her tears were for himself, and the unjust re-birth of his grand-sire. As he studied her face for conformation she too searched his eyes and gasped at what she found there. Fear.

"You thought I would...?" she couldn't even say it, couldn't bear to think that he might doubt her commitment to him, "Just because he's human, I could never..."

"I'm sorry" Spike was quick to tell her as she backed out of his arms, "But you two were in so deep before, Buffy. He was your first love and I know how much you wanted to be with him..." he looked down at his boots, hating to mention these things. Most of the time he could put out of his head that the woman he loved had been first touched by Angel. Standing here now though, the issue had to be addressed, "Are you seriously telling me you didn't long for this day?" he asked her, voice audibly shaking as he looked at her again.

Buffy glanced at all four walls and the floor before she had enough courage to face his eyes again, bright blue and piercing her soul with their intensity. He may have misjudged her, and it hurt to know he didn't trust her not to leave for Angel just because he was alive now, but she couldn't deny when she looked at him then that she understood why he was afraid.

"I can't lie to you" she said softly, "I never could...and you're right in some ways" she told him, making him physically wince as if he'd been struck, "There's a part of me, deep down, that will always love Angel and always want him to come back to me"

Spike couldn't take it and two more tears fell down his cheek. He turned away to try to hide them. Buffy moved back towards him and grabbed his arm, spinning him back round to face her.

"But the rest of me belongs to you, Spike" she told him firmly, "My heart, my body, and soul. I never gave my whole self to anyone like I've given myself to you. You're my entire world, you and Becky, and I don't ever want that to change"

"Everything changes, pet" he told her still shaking, reaching out a hand and running it through her hair, "Nothing stays the same forever" he looked away then realising how true it was, how much life had just changed for Angel.

"Our love will" she swore to him, taking his hand in her own, "and if it does change, it'll only be because it gets stronger" she promised him.

"I can't ever be him, luv" he said, genuinely touched by her words but so very aware right now of all she had really given up just to be with him as she was.

"If I wanted him, you idiot" she said with a watery smile, "I would be with him now...but I'm not" she pointed out, "I'm here, with the man I love" she told him, attempting a laugh that was more of a sob than anything else as emotion overcame her once more "You do not get rid of me so easily, William Blackwell"

He hugged her tight to him then, just not knowing what else to do or say. He didn't deserve such a woman as this, but he wasn't letting go of her for anything in the world.

- - - - - - -

"We're not replacing you with Angel in this fight" Buffy said from the doorway at the back of the Magic Box "I know you're thinking it but we're not" she told Spike's back as he leant against the wall in the shaded part of the alley, smoking a cigarette.

"You didn't need to, pet" he told her, taking an unneeded breath as he threw the butt of the cigarette to the floor and stubbed it out beneath his booted foot, "I'll bet them lot in there have already called him" he said as he turned to face her, gesturing back inside the building where the Scoobies were already making battle plans, he had no doubt.

"They're calling Faith" the Slayer reminded him "Angel just comes as part of the package. Remember how they're together now? Like we are?" she pressed the point, making it obvious what she was trying to do. Spike shook his head.

"I'm not jealous Buffy" he assured her "or anything like insecure about you and that soddin' git" he reminded her, kicking a stone along the ground, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"Then what's up?" Buffy wanted to know as she stepped in close to him and tried to make eye contact. He eventually looked up, smirking that smirk that was uniquely his.

"Apart from the demon that wants to suck us all to fire and brimstone world?" he asked her, making her roll her eyes.

"Yes, apart from that" she nodded and everything turned too serious again when he took her in his arms and looked deep into her eyes.

"I want to be by your side in this fight, Slayer, like I always promised to be" he told solemnly "I'm not afraid to die, Buffy, I mean in the permanent way, but I'll only be a burden if that bugger gets me" he pointed out "You'll lose concentration on the fight and worry about me doing the writhing in pain act on the ground" he said with some disgust, looking away from her. He couldn't bear to see pity or any other emotion other than love for him in her eyes.

Buffy put her hand to his cheek and made him face her once again.

"I don't know how I'd deal if I ever lost you or Becky" she said almost on the verge of tears.

"Never happen, sweetheart" Spike shook his head as he pulled her tightly to him, relieved at least to be reassured of her love and faith for him "We won't let it"

- - - - - - -

As various members of the Scooby gang flew into research mode and planning mode, one person had yet to move from her seat.

"You okay there, Beckster?" her Uncle Xander asked. She'd been sitting still too long for his liking. Much like her parents, Rebecca could never be quiet and inactive too long, she itched to be doing something. She was only so still and quiet when she was worried or upset.

"I'm as okay as you can be when you're facing the worlds impending doom...again" she half-smiled at her semi-joke before sighing "Though honestly, I'm more worried about my Dad than me"

"He's not happy unless he's kicking the ass of somethin' nasty" the brunette nodded, knowing only too well how true it was "It's gotta be a bummer to know he's pretty much out of this fight before it even starts"

"And instead we're getting Angel, the stupid git" she mumbled the last part to herself but Xander still gave her a look because he heard her anyway.

"Oh come on" she sighed at his disapproving, almost parental glare "You of all people have to agree with me?" she said incredulously and Xander shrugged.

"Kind of, sometimes" he admitted "but Becky, Angel's done a lot of good, and he's human now..." it took him a minute to realise it wasn't Angel's lack of evil that was bothering the teen so much.

"And he's no threat to your Mom and Dad" he added sincerely, as his hand covered hers on the table and squeezed it in a reassuring gesture.

"I know" Rebecca nodded, as she recalled her first memory of the ex-vampire with a soul...

- - - - - - - -

"Peaches? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Spike's eyes narrowed as he opened the door and found his ex-grand-sire on the other side.

It was a year since they'd come face to face like this, and last time Angel had still been undead. Now he was very much alive and the situation was particularly awkward as Buffy poked her head around the side of the door and realised who was there.

"Spike who was at the...door?" her sentence became disjointed as she saw Angel standing there. It was strange but apart from being a little tanned he looked no different to the last time she'd seen him. She wasn't sure what difference she had expected now that he was a regular human being but she'd expected something.

"Hi Buffy, Spike" he greeted both of them though his ex-grand childe with some distaste, "It's been a while" he added pointlessly. This really had not been his idea but it was apocalypse time in the City of Angels and Faith had convinced him the only way they were going to get through this one was with help from Sunnydale. She herself had been back to the small town several times to visit those she now considered friends and on more than occasion to beg a little help of the demon-defeating kind. This time she had told Angel he must go, he'd avoided those people for too long.

"Mommy" an awkward silence was interrupted by a little voice and accompanying soft footsteps on the stairs. As Spike and Buffy turned to look at their daughter, Angel stepped inside the house and the door was closed behind him.

"Becky, honey" Buffy sighed, going to her, "What are you doing out of bed, it's late"

"I was dreaming" she frowned, "The flashcard monsters were trying to get me and I dropped my stake" she explained.

"Bloody Giles with his bloody flashcards" Spike muttered as he came over and picked the little girl up with ease, "Told you your daft Watcher was gonna scare the Little Bit with his sketches of the local evil crowd" he said to Buffy who shook her head tiredly.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow" she promised before realising Angel's eyes were now fixed on her daughter, "Oh er, Rebecca, sweetheart, this is Aunt Faith's...friend...Uncle Angel" she ventured, regretting the term as soon as she saw the flash of gold in Spike's eyes, but it was too late to take it back.

"Hey Rebecca" the ex-vampire said uncertainly. He had very little experience of children, and this one he had not seen since she was a babe in arms. Now she was an actual little person and...and she was looking at him kind of funny.

"You don't look like an Angel" she shook her head, before tilting it to one side to study him, "Angel's are pretty and they have wings" she told him matter-of-factly. He smiled at that.

"It's just a nickname" he told her, "My real name is Liam"

"My name is Rebecca Joyce Blackwell" she announced somewhat dramatically and Angel glanced at Buffy.

"We dropped the Summers, it made it all too long" she explained, "and I decided to change my name to Blackwell too"

Angel just nodded, staring at the perfect little copy of Buffy that was held in Spike's arms, the only tell tale signs of her father being her bright blue eyes and slightly sharpened cheek-bones.

"Come on, Nibblet" Spike told him daughter, "Let's get you some warm milk and see if we can't get you back to sleep before it's light again" he said carrying her off to the kitchen.

"Can I try some blood, Daddy?" the pair left in the hall heard her ask.

"For the hundredth time" came Spike's answer, "No!"

- - - - - - -

"Dad!" Becky moved quickly across the room to him as soon as he returned with Buffy right behind him. She hugged him and he looked a little surprised, though he was happy enough to hug her back.

"What's up, Sweet Bit?" he asked her with a convincing but fake smile as they pulled apart, "Think I might of got eaten by some nasty in the back alley or what?"

"You know that's not it" she told him with a look, "I know it bothers you that you can't be in this fight..."

"Hush now, you" he interrupted her swiftly, "Enough bloody talk about me not being in this battle" he said, loud enough to catch everyone's attention, "Just cos I won't be swinging an axe doesn't mean I'm out of this fight, just means I'll have to find other ways of helpin', right?"

"Indeed, Spike" Giles agreed, "there is plenty of research to be done and of course your assistance in strategising would be invaluable..."

"Don't over-do it, Rupes" Spike smirked, knowing the ex-Watcher wanted to include him somehow just to keep the peace between the gang, "Honest, pet, your old Dad'll be just fine" he promised, noting that Becky still looked concerned.

She nodded that she believed him before hugging him once again. When Buffy stepped away, Becky took the opportunity to whisper in her fathers ear.

"If Angel bugs you too much, I'll kick his ass for you...the stupid wanker"

Spike couldn't help but laugh at that. He really was so proud of his little girl.

To Be Continued...

**A/N2 : Wow, did you notice? Not just fluff in this fic, we actually have demony plot! Yikes, how did that happen? Anyway, let me know what you think to this chapter by reveiwing and I'll get more done as soon as I can.**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N : Thanx for all the latest reviews; Demonica Mills, kargrif, Moluvsnumber17, reesa, AraelMoonchild, FrannyLovesSpike, Freezyboncoolipants, buffwill, sheilamarie, pixiecorn, Ape18, sPiKe-RoX07, SpikeAngel-Lover - you guys all rock as always! It is so great to know you love reading this story because I am loving writing it. Here's the next chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 10

The sun shining in through the store window woke young Josh Harris from his slumber, sprawled across a pile of books at the research table.

"Morning Sleepy-Head" Cordy smiled, straightening out his hair for him.

"Mom?" he said groggily as he pulled himself up and stretched, "What time is it?"

"Way past school starting time" she told him, "but don't worry I called and told them you weren't feeling well"

He smiled at both the fact he could skip school and something else too.

"I swear the principal thinks I should be checked over at a hospital, I get 'sick' so much" he air-quoted.

Every time a major battle or apocalypse type situation cropped up he was granted anything from a half a day to a week off school to help deal with it, although he was fairly certain a lot of it was just his Mom being scared she'd never see him again if the worst happened.

"Breakfast!" Xander called to the assembled group as he came in the front door, making the bell jingle. In his arms he had a tray full of doughnuts and other delights, and behind him Becky carried Styrofoam cups of hot chocolate and coffee.

As everyone scrambled to grab food and drinks, the youngest girl walked over to her father's side, the only person not desperate for a jelly doughnut, and handed him a brown bag.

"We didn't leave anybody out" she smiled and he grinned back as he took the bag from her and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, pet" he winked as he put down the book he'd been studying, took his feet down from the table and walked out to the backroom to warm the blood in the microwave there.

"I guess Aunt Faith didn't get here yet" Becky shrugged as she turned to find her mother behind her.

"Nope, not yet" she shook her head, "but you'll know when she does, your Aunt Faith always manages to make one hell of an entrance" she smiled, wiping sugar from her doughnut off her lips.

Becky laughed.

"I haven't known her to enter a room without yelling since..." her sentence was cut off by the bell above the door ringing once again and a small child who came pelting into the Magic Box, knocking a couple of books flying from a table by the door as she ran around the back of the next shelf.

"...since _she_ was born" Becky smiled, recognising the little girl, and the loud voice that could be heard a full minute before the owner could be seen.

"Amanda Hope O'Connor you get back here now, girl, or there's gonna be a whoopin'!" Faith yelled, soon appearing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"I didn't mean it, Mommy" her six and a half year old daughter called from her hiding place.

"I swear to God, Angel" her mother told the man that hovered behind her, "The kid is driving me insane today!"

"Just today?" the ex-vampire smiled as they entered the shop and he stepped around his partner to try and locate his little girl.

"Mandy, honey?" he called, grateful to Willow who silently gestured where she was hiding, "Mandy, come out from there before you break something expensive" he told her, lifting her from behind the shelf and carrying her out with ease, despite the fact she struggled to be free the entire time.

"Well, if it isn't the LA super-couple and their side-kick" Buffy smiled as she walked over to greet them, "Looks like kick is the right word" she noted, not going as close as she might've when Mandy's foot flailed about and came within millimetres of her body.

"I hear you got trouble, B" said Faith as they shared an almost sisterly hug.

"Of the apocalypse kind" she agreed.

Angel finally let Mandy down and she ran straight to Becky.

"Is there any other kind of trouble in Sunnydale?" Angel checked as took his turn to hug Buffy, something that even after all these years still felt a little strange to the both of them.

"Say one thing for my home town" the blonde Slayer smiled, "It's never dull"

The three walked over to join the rest of the gang who all greeted Angel and Faith with hugs and hand-shakes. Mandy was at last still and relatively quiet, seated on Becky's knee and sharing her breakfast. She was the only person it seemed that could keep some control over the little terror that Angel and Faith had spawned, and it often amazed her parents, who usually had terrible trouble keeping the girl in check.

"Daddy said it's your birthday on Saturday" the little girl was saying, "Next Thursday is my half-birthday, and I'll be exactly six and a half then" she grinned proudly.

"Wow, you're growing up fast" Becky smiled back at the child she loved like a cousin "Y'know Mandy I was your age when I first met your Daddy" she glanced up at Angel who smiled also.

"That's actually not strictly true, Becky..."

- - - - - - -

"Just a minute!" Buffy called as someone knocked on the front door. It was almost midnight but Rebecca had decided that this was no time for sleeping and had been trying to scream the house down for the past hour. Rocking the child in her arms she made for the door, checking her robe was securely fastened.

"Angel" she gasped when she found him on the other side.

"Buffy" he half-smiled at the sight of her with the baby in her arms, "and this would be Rebecca" he said, looking down at the child who finally seemed to be quietening down, "She's beautiful"

"Thankyou" Buffy smiled at him, but feeling a little bad. There was a strange look of pain and longing in his eyes, though she was unsure whether it was because he would never get the chance to have kids of his own or because now he'd actually seen Rebecca it was kind of final that they were over.

"Can I come in?" he asked when she was quiet too long and Buffy realised she'd been so lost in thought, she'd almost forgotten he was there.

"Oh sorry, yes, come in" she said, stepping aside. They went into the living room, Angel taking the armchair and Buffy sitting down on the couch opposite with Becky.

"Where's Spike?" the vampire asked, trying to sound casual. Buffy tried not to smile.

"Out patrolling with the gang" she told him.

"Leaving you literally holding the baby" Angel smiled and the Slayer grinned, "Not that you seem to mind at all" he added.

"Nope" she said firmly, eyes fixed on the child, "Becky's the best thing that ever happened to me. I might not have always thought so but now, she and Spike make my world complete" she glanced up then and Angel looked away. She hated to think her words had hurt him but it was the truth, and they'd decided a long while ago that there time together was over.

"Buffy, I'm glad you've moved on and you're happy" he told her, glancing back, though she was fairly certain it was hard for him.

"You should try it" she said with a smile, "The whole moving on deal"

"That's kind why I'm here" he admitted and Buffy looked puzzled by that, "The thing is, well, I've sort of been seeing someone"

"Oh" the Slayer was visibly stunned by that revelation, though she knew she had no real reason to be. Angel was your typical tall, dark, and handsome guy. There was no reason to think that girls wouldn't find him attractive. He was kind and loving, and eager to protect those around him, of course his curse presented some problems but...

"It's Faith" he said suddenly and Buffy's eyes went so wide he thought they might fall completely out of her head.

"Faith" she echoed, trying to take in the concept of the dark Slayer and her ex boyfriend dating, "She doesn't..." she began before laughing lightly, "I was gonna say she doesn't seem like your type, but hey, you clearly like your women to have super demon-killing abilities" she said bordering on nastily and Angel frowned.

"I don't just love her because she's a Slayer" he argued, before replaying his own words in his head and wincing.

"You love her?" Buffy looked at him strangely, almost as if it hurt to hear those words. It was ridiculous really, they both knew it. She was so totally committed to Spike but a part of her would always love Angel, that's just the way it was with first love, she guessed.

"It's so weird" Angel almost laughed, "I can't say it to her, but I just told you without even meaning to" he admitted, "I guess I'm worried that she'll run if I go too fast"

"Going too fast for Faith" Buffy smirked, not unlike the way Spike would, "There's a concept"

"Oh we haven't..." Angel was quick to deny all carnal knowledge of his new girlfriend but Buffy shook her head.

"Angel, it's none of my business what you and Faith do or don't do" she told him, leaning over to put a hand on his arm, "I'm just glad you found someone you think you can be with" she smiled, feeling ridiculously tearful about the whole thing.

"Well, well" said a voice from the door, "Wondered when you'd come darkening our doorway again" Spike looked daggers at his grand-sire as both he and Buffy turned and saw him standing there.

"How was patrol?" Buffy asked him, as she took her hand away from Angel's arm.

Spike walked across the room, keeping his eyes on the other vampire til he reached his Slayer's side. Sitting down beside her he kissed her with some passion, no doubt all for Angel's benefit, before turning his attention to the now sleeping child in Buffy's arms.

"Patrol was fine, staked a couple of baddies" he said with a shrug, "No more news on the big bad skank" he added, referring to Glory. They had yet to figure out exactly what she was or what she was up to, "Little Bit all restless again, was she?" he asked next and Buffy told him how she'd done nothing but scream since he left, up until a few minutes ago.

"Misses her dear old Dad, don't you kitten?" he asked the child, despite the fact she was sound asleep by now. Buffy handed Rebecca over to him and turned to Angel who looked uncomfortable.

"I don't wanna be pushy but if we're done here, I'm kinda tired" she told him and the vampire got to his feet.

"No, that was all" he admitted, "I have a contact down here that I needed to see, I thought I should swing by and meet the little girl I've heard so much about"

"So long, Peaches" Spike smirked as his grand sire headed for the door, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" he added and Buffy rolled her eyes. She loved Spike, honestly she did, but sometimes he could be a real child.

"Thankyou, Angel" she smiled as she opened the door to let him out, "It really means a lot that you would want to come and tell me yourself about Faith" she told him, reaching up to give him a hug, "I really do want you to be happy" she said as she squeezed him tight.

"It's all I ever wanted for you too" he said as they pulled away a moment later, "I see you are now"

"More than I ever thought possible" the Slayer nodded and smiled as her ex went out of the door promising to come visit again soon.

As Buffy closed the door and stepped back into the living room, Spike raised an eyebrow in questioning manner. He may not have seen the hug but he'd heard the words, vampire hearing was a very handy thing.

"He came to tell me that he's dating Faith" Buffy told her 'husband' as she sat back down beside him.

"Old broody pants and the rogue Slayer?" Spike smirked, "Didn't see that one coming"

"I guess they have stuff in common" Buffy shrugged, "Former evil trying to redeem themselves?"

"If that's how it works you're lucky you grabbed me when you did, luv" Spike smirked as she stood up with Rebecca in his arms, "Might have been me that ended up shagging your second in command"

Buffy rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh as she followed him up the stairs. Whatever Spike or Angel said, she was genuinely glad that her ex-love had someone to be with just like she did. No-one should have to go through life alone.

- - - - - - -

"Well, well" said Spike as he appeared from the back room at last, "If it isn't the back-up brigade"

"Uncle Spike!" Mandy shrieked as she scrabbled down from Becky's lap and ran at the vampire, full pelt. Angel blamed the bleached blond almost entirely for his child's often wild behaviour, though she hadn't spent all that much time in his company, she adored her Uncle Spike almost as much as she loved her parents and no-one could really figure out precisely why.

"Hello, Little Bit" he smiled as he scooped her up from the ground, "Bloody hell you're getting to be a heavy one" he complained, "Lucky I got my extra power or you'd break my soddin' back" he told her with a grin, making her laugh.

"Language Spike" Buffy reminded him with a look. He rolled his eyes as he came to sit down again with the little girl on his lap.

"Hey Blondie, what's up?" Faith asked him.

"Five by five, pet" he smirked, stealing her infamous phrase "Yourself?"

"We get by" she smiled, before turning serious, "but I here things ain't lookin' so rosy round here"

"Yeah, we got trouble" Xander chipped in, "Right here in Hellmouth City"

"Giles, you mentioned a Joh'ran Katama" Angel said, turning to the ex-Watcher, "I thought they died out centuries ago"

The older man nodded in agreement, before explaining the situation to the new arrivals.

"Damn, B" Faith exhaled loudly, "When you get Big Bad's around here they're Real Big Bads"

"Tell me about it" Buffy sighed, "but there has to be a way to defeat it. We beat back everything else that ever tried to end the world. However bad it gets I know we can do it again"

"No arguments here, luv" Spike agreed, "Even if I can't go swinging my sword into battle this time, you know I've always got your back, right?"

Buffy nodded, covering his hand with hers on the table. They got their strength from each other as well as the rest of their family and friends. They were all going to have to pull together in a big way on this one, or Becky might never see that sixteenth birthday they'd so been looking forward to celebrating.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : As usual, let me know what you think by reveiwing please. It is always good to know which bits you like or don't like, any characters well written ir not so well written, etc. I'll update again as soon as I can.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N : Woah, this turned into a big chapter, which is probably a good thing since you guys have been so patient waiting for an update I think you deserve it! Thanx to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter; Freezyboncoolipants, u2fan2005, pixiecorn, Demonic Mills, Moluvsnumber17, Spuffyfan4eva, spuffy4eva, sheilamarie, velja, SpikeAngel-Lover, Ape18, AraelMoonchild.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 11

The Scooby Gang had been in full research mode for a few hours now, most of them pouring over many books relating to the ancient demon they must face, whilst Willow got onto the Internet. The kids helped her out when so many hours of screen stareage made her eyes go wonky, and Xander was on food duty ensuring everyone had a never ending supply of coffee and snacks.

Inevitably after a while some members of the group started to get a little bored of book reading, one in particular was Faith. She got up from her seat, leaving Mandy in the capable hands of Tara since Angel was in deep conflab with Giles. She pulled up a seat next to Josh at the second research table.

"Hey kid, how's tricks?" she asked, straddling the chair beside him.

"I'm okay" he shrugged, getting up when Cordy did and offering to take the heavy pile of books from her.

"Thanks Josh" she smiled gratefully at her son as he took them across the room, adding them to the pile of volumes that were useless on this particular occasion. His leaving had left his 'aunt' alone with his mother.

"So Faith..." Cordelia began, not knowing where to go from there.

"See, that's what I love about comin' back here and seein' you Cordy" the darker haired woman smiled, "Always got a nice big awkward silence to greet me"

"There's no law that says I have to like you" Cordelia snapped, reaching for another book to take her attention.

"Too true" Faith nodded her agreement, "but this battle'd be a whole lot easier if I didn't have to avoid you and Xander and the kid" she pointed out.

"Makes me nervous when you two talk about me" the very man she'd just mentioned commented as he came back to the table, having just been out on another snack-food run. Faith sighed, picking a doughnut up out of the open box he carried.

"Don't sweat it, Xand" she said as she got to her feet, playfully slapping him across the shoulder, "You know I'll always be complimentary" she winked as she walked away. There really wasn't anything to be complimentary about since he was just one guy in an awfully long list, Faith barely even remembered how it felt to be with him.

"Cordy, you know I..." Xander began some kind of defence. Despite the fact his one time with Faith had been years ago and when he and Cordy were not even dating anymore, he knew she was hurt to know he'd chosen to lose his virginity with the second Slayer and not with her.

"I know, it doesn't matter" Cordelia shook her head and smiled as she put her hand briefly in his, before getting up and walking away. Josh passed by her as he came back to the table and sat down with his father.

"What's up with Mom?" he frowned, having noticed the strange look on her face, "Is it Aunt Faith again"

"No" Xander lied, "it's just..."

"There's something you guys are trying to hide from me" his son interrupted, bored of always noticing the strangeness between his parents and the dark Slayer and never knowing why, "I know Aunt Faith kinda spoiled Mom's friendship with Uncle Angel but it's like there's more to it than that"

"It's complicated, son" Xander sighed, squeezing his shoulder, "I'll explain it to you when you're older" he assured the boy, looking down at the book in front of him.

"It's another apocalypse Dad" Josh said sadly, "I might not get any older"

"Hey, I don't wanna hear that kinda talk" Xander snapped but in a whisper, hoping no-one else had heard, "You believe in your Aunt Buffy, right?"

"Sure I do" Josh assured him with firm nod, "but without Uncle Spike, makes it harder, doesn't it?"

"Buffy was chief apocalypse averter way before she and Spike hooked up" the veteran Scooby told the boy, "It'd be great to have him in this fight but we'll deal, I promise"

Across the room, Buffy was doing her best impersonation of a commander-general, making battle plans with Giles seated opposite and Spike and Angel on either side of her.

"...so basically I'm thinking if we...Spike?" she frowned when she realised he was listening intently, but not to her.

"Sorry, luv, what?" he checked, shaking his head as if to come out of a daze.

Glancing around the room suspiciously, Buffy smiled a little.

"If you weren't listening to me, who exactly were you tuned in on?" she wanted to know, wondering which of the gang were having the most interesting conversation.

Spike had been known to use that extra good vampire hearing of his for both good and bad eavesdropping, including the time he over-heard a couple of demons talking in the cemetery alerting him and the Slayer to a dastardly plot they otherwise might have had trouble dealing with, and another occasion when he'd had altogether too much fun listening to Tara and Willow's whispered plans for a quiet evening in. If only the words he heard now were as welcome to his ears.

"Xander's promising the boy a happy ever after from this fight" he told the others quietly, "I hate to say it but no-one can ensure all our lives in something this big"

"He knows that better than anyone" Buffy sighed, glancing over at her best male friend, "He just can't bear to think of losing Cordy and Josh, not after what happened with Anya..."

-

The funeral was a small affair. Xander couldn't bear to invite any of her demon friends, though he knew in some ways she might have wanted them there. It was just a week since the day it happened, up in the spare bedroom at Buffy's house. She and Spike had gone out on patrol to find the latest semi-big bad in town, leaving Anya to babysit for baby Becky. She wasn't the usual choice for looking after the child, but since Xander left her at the altar the gang had made extra efforts to include her in things, and she seemed grateful for it.

By his own admission, Xander had not gone through with their marriage because of Cordelia, and the fact that when faced with the prospect of pledging his life forever to Anya he started to realise that his love for Cordelia had never truly died. It was clear the former high school bitch had some kind of feeling for him too, and she and Anya had several fights over petty little differences, all leading back to jealously and insecurity regarding Xander. Now as the two brunettes stood at the graveside of the former-demon, they thought back over the events of the past week, specifically the day she'd passed away.

Knowing she would be at 1630 Revello Drive, and hating the ill feeling between them, Xander had convinced Cordy to go with him to see Anya and try to apologise for the hurt they'd inadvertently caused her. She let them in but made it clear she didn't want to talk to them. There was yelling before long which woke the previously sleeping Rebecca upstairs, and Anya went to her, taking her from the cot and holding her close to her body, still arguing with Xander who had followed on up the stairs.

Cordy stood in the hall, throwing in her own comments where she felt appropriate. Anya soon got upset, yelling that all this arguing was only making the baby cry more.

She stormed past the couple she felt had betrayed her and went into the first room she came to, the spare room.

The three had no idea that down below in the garden, Buffy and Spike had just arrived home. They had been followed by Warren, a boy the gang had once gone to school with who had now turned into a psychopath gunning for the Slayer. He pulled a gun and levelled it at Buffy.

The first two shots veered wildly off course, the third came straight for Warren's target and Spike wasted no time throwing his woman to theground and taking the bullet that was meant for her. It did him little damage, passing straight through his shoulder.

It was the fourth bullet fired that was deadly. Having heard the shots down below, Xander and Cordy ducked for cover. Anya threw her body around to cover the baby in her arms, as the final stray bullet came crashing through the window, embedding itself in her spine and killing her outright.

Becky's life was saved, not even a scratch on her as Anya slumped over the bed with the baby still in her arms. Cordelia grabbed Rebecca as Xander went to his ex-love, praying it wasn't true, that he hadn't just seen her die - but he had.

"I'm sorry, Xander" Cordelia had cried then and she did again now as the two of them walked away from the grave.

"It wasn't your fault" he said, squeezing her hand, "I know it's not really mine either but..." he paused, swallowing hard before continuing, "I feel so bad for being relieved you're still here" he said, voice shaking as a tear fell down his cheek.

"It's okay" Cordelia promise him, wiping away his tear, "It'll all be okay, I promise"

He nodded that he knew she was right but it didn't mean it hurt any less.

-

"All this book reading and computer looking is giving me a headache" Becky complained, shattering the near silence of the Magic Box, "Besides I've been sitting too long" she demonstrated by getting to her feet and stretching out her stiff muscles, "I need to hit something"

"S'not dark yet, Bit" Spike pointed out, turning in his seat to look at her, "Doubt you'll find any baddies about"

"So how about we hit the training room" she grinned, "Spar for a while"

"Still reckon you can take the old man down, do you?" he smirked, getting to his feet and hiding well the disconcerting feel of realising that which he already knew - his baby girl was all but the same height as he was now.

"I'll give it my best shot" she smirked right back at him as they headed for the door that led out to the back of the shop where the training room resided.

"This oughta be fun" Faith grinned, and Buffy smiled too as both Slayers vacated their seats.

"Audience is always welcome, luvs" Spike assured them as he held open the door for the three women to pass through.

Once inside, Becky started stretching and preparing herself for a fight. Her mother and aunt sat down on the bench at the side of the room, whilst Spike removed his prize coat and carefully laid it next to his wife. He made the novice mistake of turning his back on his opponent.

"Hey Dad" said Becky standing directly behind him.

"What...?" he began to ask as he turned, but the rest of the sentence disappeared as a small fist struck him at half-power across the face. Becky smirked at his expression when he turned his head back straight.

"Playing dirty, huh?" he asked her as she backed up a step and prepared for his counter-attack.

"Just like you taught me" she started to laugh as he came at her. She blocked his first few punches but eventually his fist made contact with her ribs. The fight went on, no real violence in it and no real injuries endured by either party as the battle continued.

"The kid got the moves, B" Faith chuckled as Becky expertly swept her fathers legs out from under him, sending Spike crashing to the floor on his butt.

"Yeah" Buffy smiled fondly at the scene, watching her 'husband' scramble to his feet and flying kick his daughter into the padded wall on the other side of the room, "As crazy as it would sound to the world outside, I love to watch them fight like this" she shook her head at how weird that really did sound and at the expression of Faith's face.

"Yeah, you're right, kinda crazy" the brunette smiled, "but I get it" she nodded.

"As much as anything it's great to know he can fight humans again of his own free will" the blonde admitted, eyes following the two fighters as they came back across the room "I mean, obviously I'm glad he didn't go back to eating people but there's evil in the human world too that has to be dealt with and what the Initiative did to him..." she got mad just thinking about how cruel it was, like muzzling a dog. Spike had been evil before, she wasn't stupid enough to not remember, but he didn't deserve that chip, no-one did. Most vamps might need staking, but that was death, plain and fast. What the government tried to do was sick torture. Besides, how do you teach morals to anyone or anything when you have none yourself?

"Don't sweat it, B" Faith urged her, noticing the too serious and angry look on her face "it all worked out" she reminded her.

"Only cos you helped" Buffy managed a half-smile as she turned to glance at the brunette beside her.

Faith grinned.

"Hey, like I was really gonna turn down a gig like that"

-

"Well" Faith sighed, hefting the axe on her back a little higher, "Gotta tell ya B, this isn't exactly how I planned my visit to good old SunnyD" she smirked as they walked along in the dark.

"I'm sorry" Buffy apologised, "but I kinda need someone to watch my back on this one"

For one of the first times since becoming a Slayer, Buffy was less confident about her own abilities. After spending a couple of days and nights at Spike's side, watching him suffer, hearing him scream, as the chip fired over and over for no good reason, she was emotionality exhausted and physically almost just as tired. She needed back up and with all that had been going on with Spike and of course looking after Becky, she'd completely forgotten to cancel Faith's little visit this weekend. Joyce, Willow, and Tara had taken over Buffy's wife and mother duties for just a few hours whilst she and her fellow Slayer went back to the old Initiative in the hopes of finding something, anything of use to Spike.

"What exactly you think we're gonna find down here" the brunette asked as they arrived at the hatch that led down to the old government institution.

"I dunno" the blonde groaned as she and Faith pulled on the chain to open the hatch, "I don't care, I just need to help Spike"

Back at Revello Drive, Willow was by Spike's bedside as he slept. He awoke and found her reading.

"Anything in there about brain-frying chips and their removal from the undead cranium?" he asked groggily, attempting a smirk.

"I wish there was" the red-head told him sadly, closing the volume, "Still hurting?"

"Only when I'm awake or asleep" he told her with a look, "Reckon this might be it for me, Red" he admitted, looking away.

"Don't say stuff like that" she admonished, "You have Buffy and Rebecca to fight for, so you're not going to give up, right?" she said, resolve face firmly in place.

"Yes ma'am" he smiled, wincing as pain shot through his head again and blood ran from his nose once more. Willow pushed a handkerchief to his face, looking worried by the sight of more blood, and then exceedingly relieved when Joyce called that Buffy and Faith were back and they'd brought company.

"This is a highly inappropriate setting for this kind of operation..." the man in the doctors jacket was saying as he was hurried up the stairs and into the bedroom by two brassed off Slayers.

"So make it appropriate, dumbass" Faith snapped, "Or we're gonna get cranky"

Spike couldn't help but smile as Buffy gave the doctor a shove towards him.

"Well Doc" he smirked, "Reckon you better do as these ladies say, cos believe me when I tell you, you wouldn't like them when they get mad"

It had been a minor miracle to find people still working in one sector of the underground labs. A certain amount of Slayer-strength threats and a doctor had been given to them to help Spike.

Just four hours later and it was all over, the chip was out and Buffy had never cried so much or so hard from pure relief.

-

Spike was breathing unnecessarily heavily as he let his daughter out of the choke hold she couldn't escape from. If it were a real fight and she were the enemy he could easily have snapped her neck from there. She knew it, and when he asked her where she'd gone wrong, she obediently noted her mistake and told him what it was, promising never to let it happen in a real battle.

"Well, then. I reckon that's one down, and two to go?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at the other two women.

"Bring it on, Blondie" Faith challenged, getting to her feet, arms gesturing to match her words. Spike glanced between her and Buffy.

"Sure, take Faith down first" the blonde shrugged "Save the best for last" she said with a look he knew so well.

"Works for me, baby" he shot back, the glint in his eye conveying his understanding of exactly what she meant. Without taking his eyes off her he lunged at Faith taking her unawares and knocking her to the ground. The second fight was on, and he was loving it.

"You okay?" Buffy frowned a little as Becky walked over with a bottle of water in one hand, squeezing her ribs with the other.

"Yeah" she winced just slightly as she sat down, knowing the pain wouldn't last long anyway "You know Dad never goes all out with me like he does with you" she rolled her eyes, knowing that despite her father saying he'd never pull punches with her, he always did a little bit.

"He's just worried about hurting you, sweetheart" Buffy told the girl that looked so much like herself, "You're our baby and we love you" she reminded her, tucking loose strands of hair behind the young girls ear, "neither of us wants anything bad to happen to you"

"Bad's coming Mom" Becky sighed, looking down at her water bottle and then up at the fight between Spike and Faith, "You can't protect me from it, especially not this time with Dad all out of the game and pretty much just you and me and Aunt Faith with any kind of chance of inflicting damage" she said, eyes turning to her mother now.

"Then we'll do what we do best" Buffy said firmly, putting her hand on Becky's on the bench, "We'll save the world, and be heroes, cos it's what we do"

The two blondes shared a smile before a sharp yell broke their mother-daughter moment. Spike got up from the floor and offered a hand to Faith who took it, pulling herself up too but wincing as she did so.

"Geez, Spike" she complained, one hand on her back as she tried to ease the pain,"When d'you master that move? It's gonna take me a week to re-align my spine, man" she joked as she clicked a couple of joints back into place.

"If you can't stand the heat, luv, vacate the fight zone" he told her with a smirk, leaning over slightly with his hands on his knees, "Know what I mean?"

Faith shot him a look but had a hard time not grinning at his attitude. She liked him a lot. He was okay, for a vampire, and whilst her heart belonged to Angel she knew back in their wild days she and Spike could really have had some serious fun.

"You're up, B" she told her sister Slayer, slapping her on the back as she walked past and headed for the door. She should check on Angel and Mandy, make sure the little girl hadn't gotten herself into any trouble, though the likelihood was that she had.

"My turn now, huh?" Buffy smiled as Faith exited the room, "After the run around you gave these two, sure you're up for it?" she asked Spike who looked a little tired but by no means out of the game.

"Always up for you, Slayer" he told her as they stood toe to toe. His double-meaning was not lost on Buffy, who purposely put her body as close to his as possible.

"Tell me something I don't know" she said softly, and it was tough to know whether it was fighting or loving that was really on their minds.

"Eeew" Becky's immature noise broke whatever moment they might have been having "Enough with the gross-at-your-age innuendoes, get with the hitting already" she complained.

"Buffy" Spike pretended to look surprised, "I do believe our daughter wants us to fight" he said as if it was absurd.

"Really?" Buffy played the part of equally-stunned-woman, as she backed up a step, "Well, I suppose we could" she shrugged, looking as if she were considering difficult options.

"You wanna take the first shot?" Spike asked her too politely, "Y'know ladies first and all that rot" he gestured with his hand and Buffy continued to look thoughtful before nodding.

"Okay" she agreed, a smile spreading across her face, "Here we go" she grinned, kicking out at him, but he anticipated her move, catching her booted foot in his hands and almost spinning her completely off her feet.

Becky watched with astonishment as she always did. No matter how many times she saw her parents spar, it was always incredible and never once did the fight go the same way. Sometimes Spike would win, sometimes Buffy, sometimes it'd go on so long they'd call it a truce because they were too bored to keep going, but it was always one hell of a fight. It didn't look brutal though, Becky observed, though some of the kicks and punches they landed would have broken the flesh and bones of lesser beings. They fought as if they were dancing with each other. She'd told them that once and her dad had just given her this odd look, kissing her on the forehead and saying he quite agreed before walking away.

When it became obvious to Rebecca that the previous lusty looks between her parents were going to develop into something icky somewhere after or even during this fight she got up from the bench and slid out the door in silence.

"You had enough of sparring, sweetie?" Joyce asked as she came back into the main room, sipping at her water.

"Mom and Dad are taking a turn at each other" she explained, "They're so well matched, it could go on for hours before one of them calls a truce"

"I do hope they don't tire themselves out with practise" Giles worriedly polished the lenses of his spectacles, "The upcoming battle will require a great deal of preparation and whilst that does include physical training it might be in Buffy's best interest to reserve as much energy as she can"

"Relax, Giles" Willow told him,"You know Buffy and Spike, they'll only fight for so long before...well, y'know" she tried to get away without actually saying it but a few people really didn't seem to know what she was saying at all. Faith was biting her lip, obviously having already caught on before Tara spoke up.

"I think Will means that their passion for the fight doesn't necessarily stay...fighty" she said, looking at her girlfriend, as they both giggled like teens.

Becky and Josh shared a disgusted look.

"Eeeeww"

To Be Continued...

**A/N2 : Hope you liked the new chapter - please review and let me know. Thanx.**


	12. Chapter 12

A/N : Thanx to Freezyboncoolipants, Spuffyfan4eva, Celestia Nailo, Demonica Mills, spuffy4eva, Moluvsnumber17, sheilamarie, PltnmDancer, Lindsay, BJCKidsX4, SpikeAngel-Lover, for all the reviews. As always you guys rock, but I think I need to clear up a couple of things; yes, Anya died saving Becky, and I'm sorry if some of you didn't like that, also it is true that I've moved away from canon to a certain degree, but the whole universe is altered and the more time moves on the further away it gets from the original canon, thats just how it is. Hoping that all that made sense, so here's the next chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 12

Buffy groaned as she rolled over in bed and shut off the alarm clock that had disturbed her sleep. It was pretty late last night when the extended Scooby Gang had realised they should probably all get some sleep. A huge battle was ahead and everyone needed to be involved in one way or another. In order to be useful to the cause everyone needed their shut-eye, although sleep came less easily to some than others.

"Mornin', pet" Spike smiled as the Slayer stirred next to him, "You sleep okay?" he checked.

"Did you sleep at all?" she replied in kind, causing him to look away, "Spike, honey, you have to get some rest" she told him, "I need you if I'm gonna win this fight"

"I know, baby" he sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close, "I just hate that I have to watch you lot go off, weapons in hand, leaving me behind"

"You make it sound like we're never coming back" she frowned, "You have a little more faith in me and Becky than that, right?"

"It's not a question of faith" he shook his head, "the belief kind or the Slayer" he added with a smirk, "It's just something I'm gonna have to get over I s'pose"

"So long as you don't ever get over me" she smiled, "then everything's fine"

"Slayer, there is no chance of that" he grinned back at her, suddenly flipping her on her back and kissing her deeply, "You think we got time before all hell breaks loose?" he asked, one eyebrow raised and a suggestive smirk on his lips. Buffy opened her mouth to answer but the words never made it out before a scream was heard in the hall.

"I guess not" the blonde Slayer sighed as her lover rolled off her and let her get out of bed.

Mandy had woken up and decided that bolting across the landing was a fun new game. No doubt her parents were also awake by now and Becky too. The house would be buzzing in a matter of minutes and that meant sex would have to wait.

"Back to the battle plans then" Spike rolled his eyes as he too got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. Buffy forced down a smile as she walked over and put her arms around him, kissing him sweetly on the lips.

"I promise, when all this is over, we'll find time for each other again" she assured him. He nodded, appreciating the sentiment, but his heart ached to think that there may not be a time when all this was over. One or both of them might not come through, or the world might just end and take all of them with it.

"Yo, B!" Faith's voice came loud and clear though the door before she gave up yelling and just barged in, "You two lovebirds want breakfast?" she checked, "Angel's kinda taken over your kitchen"

"Oh joy" Spike said sarcastically as he adjusted his T-shirt and followed the two Slayers out of the bedroom, "Peaches in charge of the food, y'know that's not gonna end well"

Becky emerged from her room as the three adults came out onto the landing and Mandy rocketed past. The younger Slayer grabbed her as she came by, picking her up with ease.

"So it was you making all that noise?" she mock-scolded the little girl, "And here was me thinking we hand kangaroos tap-dancing in the house"

That made Mandy giggle as the group went downstairs to get some food. There was no way to know what the rest of the day held, or the rest of the week for that matter. Better to eat, drink and be merry whilst they had the chance.

-

It was an hour later when the gang met the rest of the crew at the Magic Box for more research and planning. Giles looked like he'd barely slept and Joyce was already fussing around him as he desperately muddled his way through long-winded foreign text on age-old scrolls, as Willow sat at the other table still tapping away on her laptop. Tara assissted her lover, whilst Xander, Cordy, and Josh were back on the books, though things were starting to look a little bleak in that department as the pile of useless texts steadily grew and the small group of semi-useful writings did not seem to increase in size at all.

"I am fairly certain the demon will arrive tomorrow" Giles admitted as he went into conference mode with the key players in the fight, "That should be good news, knowing when to expect a battle, but as yet we have no idea how to fight against what is coming apart from general attack with sharp weapons" he sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.

"If we can't kill this thing straight off..." Faith considered, "so long as we keep it away from the hellmouth, things are cool, right?"

"Not really" Angel told her with a shake of his head, "It wants the hellmouth open, you're right, but the destruction it would cause just getting to it..."

"It could kill hundreds" Spike filled in, "and we can't risk that"

"Indeed" Giles nodded, "but I am at a loss as to know where to go from here"

"Aha!" Willow's joyful cry from behind the computer screen caught everyone's attention, "Giles, you were right about spells being no good against the Joh'ran" the red-head told him, "but there's still something we can do, something that doesn't rely on the fighty skilled people"

"I-It's a ritual" Tara helped to explain, "The one that was used before, to freeze the demon in time" she smiled a little at the triumph of finally finding something useful after so many long hours of research.

"When you say frozen...?" said Cordy with a frown. She wanted to make sure she understood exactly what was going on and with these spells and rituals it was often difficult to seperate the literal from the metaphoric.

"You mean like ice?" Josh asked, but Willow shook her head.

"No, sweetie, not frozen that way" she told him, and everyone else, "It's kinda like a stasis field 'cept time doesn't literally stop within the force-field it kinda slows it down..." she struggled to explain, the translation before her was not great but she did her best anyway "'and for every moment passed within the world the being shall spend an eternity'" she read allowed.

"So we live for one second, demon-guy's getting a year?" Xander attempted to translate into terms everyone would understand.

"M-more than that" Tara corrected him, "Probably more like a decade, maybe two"

"So once demon-boy's slowed down it's easily slain, right?" Spike looked to the witches for a response and then breifly at Giles who moved to see what the women were reading. He nodded along with them as he scanned the information, assuming the vampire's theory to be correct.

"But that doesn't make sense" Buffy frowned, shaking her head, "If the demon was held in time like this before, why didn't the people that did it kill it while they had the chance?"

"Does it matter?" Angel asked her "So long as we kill it now, what went before shouldn't be an issue"

"Maybe they didn't have the power" Faith chipped in, "or maybe they thought freezing the thing was enough" she shrugged, Buffy still didn't look happy.

"B, I'm with Angel on this" her sister Slayer continued, "What does is matter so long as the thing ends up dead this go-round?"

Buffy nodded, agreeing that her friends were right. What happened before was less than important. What mattered most was preparing for the demon's imminent arrival tomorrow. They needed battle plans and they needed them now if they were going to save the world again.

"Okay, Giles" she turned to her Watcher, "I need some idea what this demon looks like so I know what I'm dealing with, also any clues about how it might be coming to town, exactly where and when it'll arrive, that'd be a bonus too" the Slayer told him, going into total Commander-General mode.

"Xander, Cordy, Josh, you guys stay at it with the books. Anything that might be potentially useful with regards to killing or even hurting this thing. Wills, Tara, stick with the computer, get as much information on that ritual as you can. I'm gonna need you two tomorrow"

"Point me in a direction, B" Faith told the blonde, "Gettin' restless here"

"Faith, us fighters are hitting the training room. If we're gonna do this we need to be co-ordinated and working as one machine"

"Sounds like a plan" Angel agreed.

"What about me, pet?" Spike asked her, looking pained, "Want me to play baby-sitter is that it?" he asked, glancing at Mandy who was under the table colouring pictures.

"Of course not" she said firmly, "I want you with us. You can help us train, devise some strategy" she told him, putting a hand to his face as her voice turned soft, "I can't do this without you"

"Wherever you want me, luv" he promised her, "I'm there"

She smiled slightly, glad to hear it.

Faith had a quick word with Joyce asking her to keep an eye on Mandy before the three Slayers plus Angel and Spike headed into the back room. Before the day was out they needed to be working as one well-oiled machine of they were going to take down the Joh'ran Katama tomorrow.

In the main part of the shop, Willow and Tara sat at the computer, trying to translate the text they'd found as well as accessing all available links from the website, desperate to find more information that'd help their friends.

Mandy came bouncing out from under the table and over to the two witches, whilst Joyce who should have been watching her got side-tracked helping Giles.

"Hey Aunt Willow, hey Aunt Tara" the little girl grinned and the red-head smiled as she leant over to talk to her.

"Hey sweetie, what've you been doing?" she asked and the six year old handed Willow a drawing.

"It's my Mommy and Daddy" she said proudly and Tara smiled when she caught sight of the strange figures on the page that really looked nothing much like Angel and Faith, but just two random stick people.

"It's a very pretty picture, Mandy" she said anyway, making her grin even more widely.

"Mommy's slaying a vampire, and Daddy is helping" she explained, waving her hand towards the picture.

Willow suddenly had an idea and she held the paper out so both her girlfriend and her 'niece' could see it. She whispered a few words and waved her hand over the drawing, making the little girl gasp with surprise as the picture she'd made of her parents came to life, like a wobbly cartoon. Faith did indeed stake the vampire with Angel's help and it was a pleasure for Willow to see how happy she'd made the little girl. A moment later she stopped the 'animation' and handed the paper back to Mandy. The little girl immediately tried to copy what Willow had done but of course nothing happened.

"It doesn't work when I do it" she complained.

"It only works once on each picture" Willow told her, knowing it was a slight lie, but not a really bad one, she just needed Mandy to leave her and Tara alone for a while so they could continue their research, "If you go draw some more we'll see if we can make them move too" she promised.

"But we need lots of pictures" Tara added, understanding what he girlfriend was trying to do.

"Thankyou Aunt Willow, thankyou Aunt Tara" she grinned widely, briefly hugging the Wiccas legs before running off.

"She's such a sweetie" the red-head sighed, before turning back to the computer screen.

A few years ago her lover would've felt terribly guilty in this kind of situation but as things stood now she knew that would be ridiculous...

-

The ringing of the phone interrupted the couples romantic moment of the couch and Willow reached across to pick up the phone, making Tara pout at the loss of her lovers' touch.

"Oh hi, Will, it's Buffy" said the voice on the other end of the line, "I know it's majorly short notice but I need a big favour" the Slayer said urgently as Willow pushed herself up straight on the couch.

"Is everything okay, Buffy?" she checked, getting increasingly worried by now.

"It's just, there's this demon" the blonde explained, "turns out it rises tonight, Giles just called from his vacation to tell me"

After a short joke about the ex-Watcher not even being able to forget the Hellmouth when away with Joyce, Buffy got to the point and asked Willow if she and Tara could come over to Revello Drive and sit with Becky.

In the background, protests could be heard from the twelve year old who swore black and blue she was quite old enough to patrol with her parents. The next voice heard was Spike's as he told her in no uncertain times that patrolling was just one of many things that she was not old enough to do yet, followed by many curse words related to certain TV shows the girl watched and magazines she read.

"Of course we'll come over" Willow promised her friend, and Buffy was terribly grateful to the witches.

"We're not having our night in, are we?" Tara said sadly as her partner hung up the phone.

"Sorry sweetie" the red-head said as she kissed her girlfriend one more time, before they both got up from the couch and got ready to go out.

Less than a half hour later they were sitting on their friends couch instead of their own, Becky in the chair opposite watching the end of her favourite teen show. Buffy and Spike were picking up their weapons and discussing battle plans, as their daughter made it clear the TV was so much more interesting than them right now. She was just mad at them because they wouldn't take her with them, and they all knew she'd be over it by morning.

Spike called her name but she continued to ignore him so he strode over and stood between her and the television to get her attention.

"Listen to me, Bit" he ordered, "You give your Aunt Wiccas here any bother and they'll be some serious trouble when me and your Mum get home, clear?" he checked.

"Yes" Becky answered grumpily, "Can I watch my show now?"

Spike moved away from the TV and rolled his eyes as he walked towards the front door with Buffy.

"Hey" their daughter turned to call after them, and when they both looked back she was smiling slightly, "Don't get killed" she told them.

Willow had an 'aaww' moment at that, snuggling up to Tara.

Five minutes later when her TV show ended Becky said goodnight and went up to bed, leaving the witches to their own devices. They soon got back to what they'd started at home, only to interrupted when the littlest Summers crept down the stairs to fetch a glass of water. Immediately the grown-ups made it look like they'd been having a conversation, and not kissing or anything at all. Secretly the young blonde on the stairs smirked to herself and shook her head. Did they really think she was so stupid she didn't know what they did when she wasn't around?

"She's such a sweetheart" Willow commented when Becky was gone and Tara nodded.

"She is" she agreed, wondering where this conversation was going.

"And y'know Josh is just adorable, I love to sit for him too" the red-head continued, making her girlfriend frown. Their romantic moment seemed to have been forgotten for now.

"Sometimes I think I'd have liked to have been a Mommy" were the next words to reach her ears and she sat up sharply at that. Willow suddenly realised what she'd said and how it might have sounded to her girl.

"Oh sweetie, you know I didn't mean..." she began, emotion taking her words away.

"Y-you wish you'd ch-chosen a guy, instead of m-me?" she stammered through her sentence, something she only ever did when she was nervous or upset these days.

"No baby, never" Willow was quick to tell her, pulling her into a hug, "You mean everything to me, how could you think that?"

"Because you just said it, Will" Tara said a little more harshly than she meant to. She knew perhaps she was over-reacting but Willow meant so much to her. She never could quite understand how someone like her had ever manage to secure the affection of someone so great as Will. Now she wondered if she'd been right all along, that maybe she wasn't deserving enough to keep such a woman to herself, that maybe Willow would find someone she loved more, someone male.

"Tara, sweetie" her girlfriend started to cry as she made her turn to face her, "I never want to be with anyone but you, and...and yes, I'd love to have been a mother but not with some guy" she shook her head, making more tears fall from her eyes, "I just wish the world worked a different way, I wish...I wish we could have our own children, yours and mine" she explained, making Tara start to cry too as Willow took her face in her hands, "I wish it could happen because...because our babies would be beautiful" she finished, as both of them cried and held each other.

A moment later when they pulled apart Tara was smiling sadly.

"I-I'm sorry I doubted you" she apologised and Willow shook her head.

"It doesn't matter" she assured her, "None of it does, so long as you love me"

-

"...what do you think?" Willow was asking as Tara came out of her memory-induced haze.

"Sorry" she blinked a few times and came back to the present "I must've zoned out"

"You okay sweetie?" Willow checked, a little worried about her girl, "What were you thinking about?"

Tara smiled, putting a hand over hers.

"It doesn't matter" she said softly "As long as you love me"

To Be Continued...

**A/N2 : I decided this story needed a bit more Willow and Tara stuff since I already did a lot of Spuffy and the whole Cordelia/Xander/Anya thing. More Spuffy still to come obviously, since thats the main point of the fic, and possibly some more about Faith and Angel. Anyway, reviews are always very much of the good - thankyou.**


	13. Chapter 13

A/N : Thanx to the reveiwers of the previous chapter; Spuffyfan4eva, Demonica Mills, Freezyboncoolipants, Moluvsnumber17, sheilamarie, Moonjava, spuffy4eva, SpikeAngel-Lover, spikespet2002. Glad the Willow/Tara-ness went down so well, but now it's back to the Spuffy-ish part of the story and of course the storyline with the demon that's coming. Enough rambling now, here's the new chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 13

Becky watched in amazement as her mother and aunt fought back to back against the others partner. They were so perfectly in tune with each other, and despite the fact she too was a Slayer, the young girl could not imagine ever being this good at what she did.

"Roll!" Faith yelled as both she and Buffy kicked their opponents away. The blonde bent over so the brunette could roll over her back just as Spike and Angel got back on their feet.

"Rather be fightin' you anyway" Spike grinned, repeating words he'd said years ago.

"Mutual" came Buffy's response as her foot connected with his chest. The fighting continued on like a dance for a while longer, ending with both Slayers pinning their guys to the floor.

"Dunno about you Angel" Spike grinned, "but I can live with losing everytime if it's gonna end this way" he said in a most suggestive tone. Angel couldn't help but chuckle until Faith's tongue in his mouth silenced him. Spike wasn't so lucky as his girl climbed off and walked away.

"Well, that's not bloody fair" he complained, also getting up and following her.

"You really want to permenantly damage our daughter by doing...that, in front of her" she gestured vaguely towards Angel and Faith still in a heated embrace on the mats.

"Hey, you don't need to see that either" Spike told Becky firmly, stepping round her and blocking her view of the pair.

"Really wasn't looking" she assured him as Buffy stared off into space. Faith moaned in the background.

"Can you two please just knock it off" the blonde Slayer suddenly snapped. Immediately the kissing couple were up from the ground, both frowning as they joined the other three.

"Geez, B, take a chill-pill" Faith told her, "Just havin' a little fun while we can"

Buffy sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry" she apologised to all of them, "I didn't mean to...Becky could you go back through to the shop, see if Wills and Tara have any more information yet"

The younger girl glanced at her father who nodded in agreement with what her mother had said. Though Becky didn't like it, she left the room, just knowing everyone thought she was too young and fragile to hear what was about to be said. Did they not remember she'd be sixteen in just a few days?

"Buffy, luv, what's up?" Spike asked as soon as their daughter was gone.

"What isn't?" she laughed humourlessly as she sat down on the bench with a thump, "I was fighting you just then, we used that move that me and Kendra pulled once..."

"We used that move a million times, B" Faith frowned as she sat down beside her, "I don't get what the deal is here?"

"You should" she told the brunette, "You, all of you, more than anyone else should understand. What we go through, being champions, the others help but they're not us. No matter what we do we can't stop fighting, we just can't. We'll fight until one day it kills us for good. I think I just realised what I've dragged my daughter into" she said, voice cracking and tears coming to her eyes, "Because of me, she's a Slayer. It's her sixteenth birthday in three days and...and she might not live to see it"

"Buffy, we're going to do everything we can" Angel assured her, "We'll keep Becky and everyone else safe..."

"What if it's not enough? What if everything we can do isn't enough to keep her safe?" she wanted to know, "You were there Angel, when I was sixteen. You were there when I died" she said voice rising a coupe of decibels, "So don't stand there and tell me my daughter is safe, because you can't promise me that"

"Maybe he can't" Spike cut in, "but I bloody can" he told her firmly, "Slayer, we've come through so soddin' much, you and me. Our little girl is built of tough stuff, half you and half me. There's no way in hell that kid is going down without a fight, and she is going to live way past sixteen, you hear me?"

"You don't know..." she told him, pulling away when he tried to hold her.

"Yes, I damn well do!" he almost yelled as Faith took Angel's hand and they slipped out the door to leave the other couple alone, "Buffy, look at me" Spike told her, taking her chin in his hand and making her turn her head, "Sweetheart, I know it's rough, having your daughter right there in the thick of the same horrible situation you faced too many times" he said more calmly now, "but you have to believe we're all going to come through this, we're going to win"

"I want to believe it" Buffy told him emotionally, "but I'm tired, Spike, so tired of fighting and watching everybody suffer"

"S'alright, pet" he said gently pulling her into a hug, "Gotta keep on fighting though, it's just the way it is. Gotta keep the world turning for the rest, those that don't even know they're in trouble"

"I know" Buffy said, taking a deep breath as she pulled away from him slightly, not quite ready to leave his embrace yet, "but y'know the books and the prophecy's got one thing wrong"

"What's that then?" Spike asked with a bemused look.

"Not all Slayer's fight alone" she reminded him, "Everybody's watching my back, especially you"

He smirked at that, before kissing her lips.

"Well, luv" he said softly, "That's cos I happen to think you've got a 'back' worth watching" he smiled, hands sliding down to her ass.

"Uh-uh" she grinned, moving away, "We'll go be heroes first" she told him heading for the door, "The rest'll have to wait for later"

As Becky walked out into the main shop she found Willow, Tara and Giles gathered round the computer, Faith and Angel taking Mandy back from Joyce, and the Harris' gone. She was about to ask what the next move was when the phone rang on the wall beside her.

"Magic Box" she said as she turned and answered it.

"Er, hi" said the voice of the man on the other end of the line "I was hoping to talk to Xander Harris, or maybe his wife, Cordelia" he said uncertainly.

"They're not here right now" Becky told him, "But I can pass on a message for you"

"Oh, okay...It's Michael Morris" the voice told her "I teach their son guitar"

"Michael, hi" she grinned suddenly "It's Becky, Rebecca Blackwell. We went to school together for a while" she reminded him. When he didn't answer she added "and also I almost got hit by your car yesterday"

"Becky Blackwell, of course I remember you" he said, smiling although she couldn't see it, "I knew you were familiar before but...wow, you've certainly grown-up"

She coloured at that, glad he couldn't see.

"More than you know" she said as she looked around the room, reminded of the horror she was facing, the possible deadly situation "So yeah, I don't think Josh will be seeing you today. We're kind of having a family crisis" she explained the only way she could.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Michael said, sympathetically, "I hope things work out okay for you"

"Thanks" she nodded pointlessly "We'll be okay" she said with more confidence than she felt right now as her mother emerged from the training room with tear tracks on her face.

"Well, that was all so...Have Xander call me when Josh is ready for more lessons" Michael said in her ear, regaining her attention. If only she knew she was going to live long enough to see this guy again. He was still so gorgeous and he'd just complimented her, what was to stop her...

"Sure thing" she answered his previous request, before closing her eyes and turning her back on the rest of the shop, "and Michael...are you busy Saturday night?" she asked, praying for a positive answer and that the Powers That be would allow her to make it to her party anyway.

"I, well..." came the awkward reply "actually, I'm seeing my girlfriend" Michael mumbled. Clearly he was embarrassed and feeling very awkward right now. Becky could relate to that.

"Oh, never mind" she said quickly "Bye" she added, hanging up the phone with a thump and feeling so stupid about what she'd just done.

Of course Michael had a girlfriend. He was always centre of attention when they were kids, and there was absolutely no reason why he shouldn't have hundreds of girls all wanting to date him. Besides, he'd never paid her much attention before, why should he start now?

"Earth to Becky" Spike smiled as he waved a hand in front of her eyes to get her attention, "Honestly, Bit, where's your head at?" he asked her.

"Sorry Dad" she smiled, "My head should be in the game, right?"

"Wish it were a game, Little Bit" he told her, pushing her hair off her face affectionately, "But we could have ourselves a bloody war here. Never know if this Joh'ran might bring some mates along for the party"

"Or what might crawl out of the Hellmouth if they manage to open it" she added with a sigh, "But we have to be positive about this" she said firmly, "Doesn't matter how bad it gets, what matters is we have each other" she said, sounding so much like her mother Spike felt quite odd hearing her, "This is our town and we're going to fight for it. Demons, monsters, and attractive guys with girlfriends be damned!" she said strongly as she walked away, leaving her confused father behind her.

"Oh Becky" Willow smiled as the young Slayer approached, "I was just telling your Mom about the ritual. It seems pretty do-able"

"That's great" she smiled, "but I meant to ask, where are Xander and Cordy and Josh?" she checked.

"They didn't get an awful lot of sleep last night" Giles explained, "I told them to get some more rest and suggested they return later this evening with some food perhaps"

"Sounds like a plan" Buffy nodded, "In the meantime, I need you to go through this ritual again Will, so everybody hears" the original Slayer told the witch, "Then we'll go over the battle plan one more time, those that need it can catch some sleep and then..." she paused, turning to her daughter.

"Then we fight" Becky said for her, "We save the world like we were born to do"

Buffy could only nod in response, she really was so proud of her little girl.

It was late in the evening. The Harris' had returned an hour or so earlier, complete with Chinese take-out for everybody and some blood for Spike. Mandy was asleep in the training room, having tired herself out running around the Magic Box. Willow and Tara were putting the finishing touches to the ritual they'd be using against the Joh'ran Katama, whilst the others sharpened weapons and tidied books.

Everyone was getting nervous and twitchy about the upcoming battle, and though most knew now would be a good time to catch some last minute sleep before tomorrows battle, they were fairly certain it'd be impossible.

Spike was up on the balcony, fetching down the more dangerous weapons for the Slayers when he suddenly stopped.

"Hey" he leant on the rail and looked down on the rest of the gang, "Somethin's not right" he said, clearly sensing something in the air.

"Something like what?" Angel called up to the vampire, part of him wishing he still had those heightened senses.

"Dunno" Spike frowned "Something shaking, shattering...oh bloody hell" he cursed when he suddenly realised what he was feeling, but it was too late to warn anyone.

The ground shook violently with the force of an earthquake and the Scoobies ran to doorways and dived under tables to escape falling debris. The rail Spike had been leaning on gave way and it was only his sharp reactions that kept him from falling to the ground along with it. He backed up against the book shelves, before realising he was in more danger if they fell.

"Dad!" Becky screamed as she realised that wasn't his biggest problem. The wooden planks he stood on were cracking with the force of the quake, and it took all Buffy's strength to hold Becky back and not let her run into danger. She knew Spike could take care of himself, and yet her heart was still in her throat as she watched planks from beneath him fall down one by one.

Mandy screamed from the back room and both Faith and Angel ran to be with her, narrowly avoiding being hit by various falling objects. Buffy was watching them get to safety too intently and Becky slipped from her grasp, bolting over to the ladder up to the balcony and climbing up, unsure what she would do when she got there but refusing to let her father get hurt or worse.

She was half way up when the central bookshelf finally gave in and began to fall. She screamed and Buffy watched in horror, stuck to the spot with fear as the shelving unit seemed to fall in slow motion. Spike saw in coming and flipped himself over the edge of the balcony, turning head over heels and landing on his feet on the ground. He reached to grab Becky from half way up the ladder, pushing her back towards her mother. All this in seconds before the bookshelf hit the balcony, taking it down also. Shards of wood flew out in all directions as Spike threw himself to the floor praying for a miracle, that none of the splinters would pierced his heart. In this instance he was lucky, and everyone felt even more relieved when the quake ended and they carefully came out from their safe places.

"Spike" Buffy called as she ran to him, Becky right beside her as they reached the bleached blond.

"What the hell happened?" Faith wanted to know as she emerged from the training room with Angel hugging a distressed Mandy to him.

"Bloody book-case tried to murder me" Spike joked as he pulled himself up from the ground, Buffy and Becky fussing around him all the time.

"Oh God I thought that was it, I really thought..." the older Slayer rambled a little as he hugged her.

"Don't fret, Slayer" he told her, "No harm done...Though I want a word here with your daughter" he said, not looking at all amused as he turned to her, "You, young lady, might've got yourself killed" he said, pointing his finger at Becky, "Then how would this bleedin' demon got beaten"

"I had to save you" she told him tearfully, but none the less angry at being told off for trying to help him.

"Lesson you should have already learnt, luv" Spike told her firmly, "Your old Dad can take care of himself" he snapped, a feeling a little bad for it when tears fell down Becky's cheeks, "Now, none of that" he sighed, hugging her to him, "I get that you were scared for me, but I'd rather have the world take out it's wrath on me than let anything happen to you" he said softly, rubbing her back a she cried from the shock of all that had happened.

"Not to take away from the family moment" Xander interrupted, "and obviously glad we're all a-okay but...was that earth-quake just California-land-mass-related or seriously demon-related?" he wanted to know.

Giles looked guiltily at his shoes, keeping an arm firmly around a shaking Joyce.

"I may have might a slight error in my calculations" he admitted. The others looked naturally panicked by that.

"What are you saying Watcher?" Spike asked, narrowing his eyes at Giles "This thing gonna be here in an hour, two?"

"Possibly less than that even" Rupert told him, remembering the passages he'd read about the great power of the Joh'ran Katama "I think, it could arrive at any moment"

Before anyone else could speak, the ground began to shake again, though much less violently than it had before. Buffy held onto Spike and Becky, knowing what it meant.

"I think it's already here"

To Be Continued...

A/N : I know, kinda cliffhanger-ish, but it just seemed like the perfect place to end a chapter! You know what to do, please press the button and review!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N : Okay so I kinda left this on a bit of a cliffhanger didn't I? Sorry about that but it kinda guaranteed you'd all come back for this chapter, now didn't it? Anywho, big thanx to all those that reviewed; Moonjava, u2fan2005, Freezyboncoolipants, RoleModelGirlie, Moluvsnumber17, sheilamarie, Spuffyfan4eva, Amandamanda3, spikespet2002, Syd, SpikesDreamer, Time Rowanwood, Demonica Mills, spuffy4eva. You've all been super patient, so here's the new chapter.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 14

"Faith, Angel, this is it" Buffy told them as they came forward, both of them hugging Mandy tight before handing her over to Joyce. It took every bit of willpower they had to let go of their baby. This was one of the biggest fights they would face and the fear they might not come back hit them like a physical strike.

"We can do this, we can" Becky told herself with more confidence than she felt as her mother gathered up some weapons and the rest of the gang scrambled to help with the ritual to stop the demon that was coming sooner than anyone predicted.

"It'll be headed for the Hellmouth" Giles yelled over the noise that was rising in volume once again, the rumble of the earth as the demon's power became all too apparent.

"Then that's where we're headed too" Buffy told them, a sword in her hand and a battle-axe strapped to her back just in case. Becky stood with her, as did Faith and Angel all fully armed. They shared a look before heading for the door. Buffy looked back just once, glancing at Spike, telling him with her eyes only just how much she loved him, as he did the same.

"Good luck" Joyce called behind them, holding Mandy to her as the little girl screamed for her parents.

Spike hated to be left behind, hated being stuck here when his wife and daughter were out there fighting the good fight, but what choice did he really have. He glanced over at the rest of the Scoobies who were frantically clearing a space of the floor and trying to salvage books and ingredients from the mess the earth-quake had caused.

"Where do you want me, Red?" he asked Willow. He knew a little of the magicks, but not enough to be of any use unless someone told him what needed doing.

"Er, I don't know" Willow floundered, desperate not to lose it under the pressure but finding it difficult,

"Come on now, luv" Spike told her much more calmly than he felt as he took hold of her by her arms and looked her right in the eye, "Slayers' are countin' on you to do this, and we all know you can, right?"

"Right" she nodded taking a deep breath. Somehow he'd given her that little bit of confidence in herself that she needed right now, "This space isn't big enough" she realised, "The shelving that fell has taken a lot of the space..."

"No problem" Spike assured her, leaping carefully over the debris to the edge of the fallen shelving, "Harris!" he yelled, "Give a bloke a hand would you!" he called and Xander did as he was asked.

With Spike at one end and the joint effort of the Harris father and son team at the other, they managed to heft the wooden unit over against the wall. Giles and Cordy pushed the table back on the other side and the floor space near doubled in size.

"This is better" Willow smiled triumphantly, "Now we need..." she started, only to find what she was about to ask for appeared in front of her. She and Tara often worked like one instrument, especially where spells were involved, and they had an uncanny ability to predict the others next move.

"You ready, sweetie?" her girlfriend asked her, and the red-head nodded. Both witches took a bottle of coloured sand and step forward into the space on the floor. A glance to the rest of the group told them now was the time to back off, and they all did so, barring Spike. He had a part to play in this spell, and was grateful for once to have the demon inside him, without it he would be as useless now as the humans that huddled in the corner and waited for the witches to do what they must. The thick stench of the groups fear would've over-whelmed him if not for the fact he were too scared himself to really notice. One error in this ritual could result in something truly catastrophic happening, and things were bad enough as they were.

* * *

Buffy was feeling a million different emotions as they headed for the Hellmouth once again. She'd fought so many battles there, not to mention she'd been to High School there too. She was so relieved when the time came to rebuild Sunnydale High finally they chose a different location. Though it seemed the residents of the small town didn't know what really went bump in the night, nothing else was ever built atop the mouth to hell. The dilapidated school building was standing even less well these days and every fight the Scoobies had there usually caused another sector to fall. The library that had once housed the mouth to hell itself had lost it's roof completely years ago and the four walls that remained were crumbling a little more every day now it seemed.

As they reached the remains of the School the howling of something truly frightening could be heard within.

"You think that's it?" Becky asked a little worriedly, "You think the demon's making that sound?"

"Don't know" Faith shook her head, pulling her sword from it's sheath, "Don't care" she added as she charged towards the painful wailing. Angel, Buffy and Becky followed suit, eager to get this over with but also so afraid of the fact they might not come out of this building alive.

* * *

"Tempus, great God of time" Willow's voice boomed as she stood in the centre of the Magic Box, coloured sand laid out in a sacred pattern at her feet and Tara at her side, their hands gripped together, "We summon thee with our voices and our hands"

"We call upon thee to bind that which should not be free" Tara took over, her voice sounding strange to Spike and the others who rarely if ever heard the kindly woman speak louder than a whisper.

"We offer sacrifice" Willow continued, picking up a knife in her right hand and laying it flat on Tara's left as she raised it.

"The life-blood of one unclean for the stilled eternity of another" the blonde added, the slight nod of her head instructing Spike to come forward.

"We spill the blood in the name of thee, Tempus. Father of time. Brother of life" Willow said firmly and deliberately as she picked up the blade once again and sliced across Spike's wrist that he held out for her. He winced as the blade cut his skin, and blood ran from the wound onto the floor, slowly seeping into the sand that lay there.

"Tempus constrictum, Joh'ran Katama" the witches chanted together, "Tempus constrictum, Joh'ran Katama"

Their eyes fells shut as they concentrated and their joined hands rose as if of their own accord. Spike's blood on the ground was barely visible as the sand drew in the liquid. The symbols seemed to glow an eerie red as the witches continued their mantra and Spike backed up to the wall where the others looked on. Mandy was passed from Joyce to Cordy as the older woman tore at the table cloth and wrapped the material tightly around Spike's arm to stem the flow of his blood.

The earth shook once again and no-one was sure if it were the effects of the demon or the ritual that was causing it. In a few moments, they would know for sure.

* * *

The near-defeaning shrieking of something unknown was only getting louder as the four fighters approached the Hellmouth. No-one was prepared for what faced them when they got there. The demon wasn't really what they'd imagined. Perhaps just a foot or two taller than the average human but overly bulky and almost hunch-backed. It didn't look half so dangerous as they'd thought it might, but they knew appearances could be very deceiving and the noise that emanated from the creature was enough to make them all wince with pain before the fight had even begun.

It was momentarily silent when the presence of human beings became apparent. The large, hairless, and predominately blue coloured creature stared them all down like a predator eyeing up it's prey. The four stood strong, inching around until they had it surrounded. The Joh'ran didn't move just stared at each of them in turn, it's too large head bobbing around like a snake being charmed from a basket.

No-one seemed eager to make the first move, not the humans or the demon, not at first anyway. Buffy could have sworn the thing grinned before it lunged at her, sweeping it's arm at her legs. She jumped above it's swing, rolling away as Becky attacked the demon from behind. Faith and Angel soon joined the fray, all four of the gang hacking and slashing for all they were worth, but it seemed to do no good. The Joh'ran batted them away with a strength the like of which Buffy was sure she'd never witnessed before. It barely took any effort for the creature to send her flying fifty feet in the air and Becky screamed as she watched her mother hit the wall which such force she was instantly unconscious.

"You bastard!" the young Slayer yelled, pure rage taking over as she ran full pelt at the attacking demon. She forced her sword deep into what she assumed to be it's heart as it used both arms to knock Angel and Faith away.

The Joh'ran let out a scream even louder than it's previous noise and Becky was convinced she'd killed it. Angel got to his feet and looked over just in time to see the demon pull the sword from it's chest and flick it away as if it were nothing, but still it continued to make the terrible unearthly noise. The ex-vampires attention was taken by his wife as she looked terribly unsteady on her feet. Further over Buffy was bleeding profusely on the ground and Becky was about to get severely beaten down as she faced the Joh'ran unarmed and alone.

"Becky!" he yelled throwing her his own axe which she caught easily. She stood strong, read for attack just like Mom and Dad had always taught her, but the assault never came. The demon turned away from her and Angel was worried it was coming for him instead. He'd just given up his only means of defence, but the Joh'ran ignored him, wailing still as it thundered from the building at a moderate speed.

"I don't understand!" Becky yelled over the terrible noise, "I thought it wanted the Hellmouth open"

Angel watched in astonishment as the demon sprouted awkward-looking wings from it's back and took off towards the centre of the town.

"The Magic Box" he realised with some horror, "I think it's sensed the ritual happening"

Faith hissed from the pain all over her body as she dragged herself to her husbands side, "Angel, this ain't good" she said pointlessly as she allowed him to support her.

"I know" he agreed, "but there's nothing left for us to do" he realised sadly, "We can't out-run it"

"I'm gonna try" his wife defied his word, taking off at much less speed than she might have if she were less beat up. As Becky ran back into the ruined building to find her mother, Angel went after Faith. They had to at least try to get to the Magic Box and help, if only for their daughters sake. If the demon cold cause this much damage to super-humans, he didn't like to think what might happen to the others.

* * *

A sound like an unearthly scream permeated the walls of the Magic shop as Willow and Tara's chanting increased in volume and intensity. Spike took a usually unneeded breath and every muscle in his body tensed.

"Xander" he said turning to him, "Get everyone in the training room and barricade the door" he told him.

"What? Why?" the brunette wanted to know but Spike shook his head.

"Don't ask, just go" he yelled, "If you want everyone to live just go"

The Wiccas were too deep in their ritual to notice the commotion that went on around them. Xander did as he was instructed, bundling the rest of the gang into the training room, before he and Giles pulled equipment and furniture in front of the door. Spike had sensed what the humans couldn't. The demon had changed tactic, probably sensed the ritual being performed, and it was coming here.

The vampire's hand went to his back pocket, pulled out his wallet where pictures of both his wife and daughter resided. If he was going down it was with their images burned into his mind he promised himself. The chances of him killing the Joh'ran before it killed him were closer to zero than he would've liked but, but if he could just hold the thing back until the witches finished the ritual it wouldn't matter.

"Here it comes" he said to himself, grabbing a large axe and readying himself for the attack.

"Tempus constrictum, Joh'ran Katama..." the chanting of the witches rang in the vampires ears as he leapt from the counter top he'd climbed onto, coat billowing out behind him as he landed atop the demon that raged in it's attempts to dislodge him. The axe came down over and over onto the creatures head and shoulder, barely making cuts, but it didn't stop Spike trying. His game face slipped into place, bringing extra strength with it, but his weapon was lost as the Joh'ran threw him to the ground and the blade of the axe remained embedded within it's back.

With what could only be described as an evil grin and a war-cry, the Joh'ran flicked out one arm, a deadly looking spine shooting out from it's fisted hand. In one swift movement it thrust the spine down into the vampires chest, making Spike scream with terrific pain, more so when the needle-like weapon was removed.

As the Joh'ran raised it's arm to take a second strike, the ritual finally did what it should. The demon seemed to pause mid-swing and as Willow and Tara came out of their trance, completely exhausted, they were shocked by what they saw.

"Spike!" Willow called, moving to go towards him but Tara grabbed her hand to stop her, not yet trusting the stasis effect on the demon to hold.

The vampire on the ground shifted and pulled himself up painfully slowly as if the spell had got to him too. Even the slightest movement caused him agony that threatened to make him to black-out at any second, but this thing needed killing and he was the only one strong enough to do it. Climbing up onto the creatures humped back, he dragged the axe out of it's flesh and began to hack at the Joh'ran's neck with all the force he possessed. After ten or so swings, Tara counted, there was a terrible crunch of breaking bone and both witches turned away as the head of the demon rolled to the ground. The body slumped after it, the fact that the demon was dead, clearly ending the effects of the ritual.

The loss of blood coupled with the poisonous strike of the Joh'ran Katama had bad enough effects on Spike. Add to this the fact he had killed the demon on sheer will power alone, it was no surprise that when he fell from the back of the collapsing demon, hitting the concrete floor with some force, his world went entirely black.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : I'm fairly certain I suck at action scenes but I did my best here and hope it wasn't too bad. My beta assures me it's very good but I eagerly await all your responses to this action-packed chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N : I'm so into my writing right now, getting a lot done, and that means faster updates for you! Aren't you so glad I'm feeling all inspired? Reviews help with that y'know, big thanx to the latest reviewers; Amandamanda3, Moonjava, Ape18, Lindsay, RoleModelGirlie, Celestia Nailo, bella-lover, spuffy4eva, Moluvsnumber17, pixiecorn, Spuffyfan4eva, Freezyboncoolipants, spikespet2002, sheilamarie, Time Rowanwood. Your support means a lot to me, especially on chapters that I'm not so confident about like the previous one.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 15

"Doesn't matter how many times I end up sitting here, never gets any more comfortable" Xander sighed as he shifted in his seat in the private waiting area at the Sunnydale General Hospital. Cordy put her hand in his and gave him a reassuring smile. She hated this place too, after so many times of ending up here, waiting and wondering if people they cared for would have survived the latest trial life had thrown at them.

"You think they'll be okay?" Josh asked his mother, looking genuinely scared. Usually these things didn't get to him so much, or if they did he hid it well. Cordy used to call him her little warrior-man when he was a small child, always wanting to fight the big evil with his extended family. Now he knew things were so very serious. A demon that had done all that the Joh'ran had was truly something to be afraid of. The fact that it was dead was a small mercy. It's death could not undo all the damage that had been done.

Buffy had lost a lot of blood when the creature threw her against the wall with great force. She'd hit her head which had knocked her out but she'd also sliced her leg on a piece of metal jutting out of the crumbling wall. The gash leaked out a river of blood before Becky could get her mother out of danger and to a doctor. Though they were doing their best to stabilise her, and she had the Slayer-healing powers working in her favour, there were no definite answers about her condition as yet.

Angel re-entered the waiting room, having just called Willow and Tara at Revello Drive, where they were sitting with Mandy. He came to sit down next to Joyce and Giles, his head in his hands as he replayed the nights terrible events.

Half way to the Magic Box, Faith had started to stumble and he'd caught her in his arms as she lost consciousness. Though she'd come to again just moments later as he continued to run, carrying her like a child in his arms, he knew something was badly wrong. She too was now being checked over by a doctor that so far had nothing to report.

The youngest Slayer, Becky, had been told by a nurse that she ought to be checked over, when she came stumbling in to the hospital, carrying her own mother. She was near the point of collapse, the strain of the fight, the exertion as well as distress over Buffy had taken their toll and the medical staff absolutely insisted she be admitted so they could patch her wounds and run some tests. She was too tired to argue and allowed it all just to happen.

Xander felt terrible for lying to Becky, but that was what he had done. She wanted to know where Spike was and though he'd told the truth and said he was back at home with Willow, Tara, and Mandy, he neglected to mention the vampire's condition. She was proud to know he'd fought and killed the Joh'ran, she was ignorant to the fact that the very same demon had almost killed him too.

Spike's life hung in the balance, possibly even to a greater to degree than Buffy's or Faith's did. The poison the Joh'ran had injected into the vampire was deadly to that very species and Spike had caught a fairly large dose. Nobody could bring themselves to tell the teen who was already so panicked about her mother and aunt. They all hoped the witches might find something in the way of a cure for Spike, but they were already preparing themselves for the worst.

* * *

"How are they?" Tara asked as Willow came back down the stairs.

"Mandy cried herself to sleep" she said sadly, "and Spike...if anything I think he's getting worse" she admitted, a tear creeping down her cheek, "Oh God, why is all this happening, Tara?" the red-head cried, thinking of not just Spike, but also Buffy and Becky and Faith. So much suffering amongst their group, and all because of one demon. The world was a cruel harsh place, she'd known that for years, but it didn't make it any easier to understand.

Tara stood from the couch and came over to hug her girl to her.

"This could still turn out okay" she sad softly, rubbing Willow's back and trying to comfort her, "Slayers are tough and they have incredible healing powers, they should be fine" she said more positively than she felt, "and Spike...we could find a cure, it might be possible"

Willow sniffed and pulled away to look at her.

"It has to be possible" she said tearfully, "He's one of us now, we can't just let him..." she was going to say 'die' but found the word stuck in her throat.

"Come on, Will" Tara said forcefully, putting a hand to her girlfriends face, "You're my big strong Willow tree" she told her, almost crying herself but managing to hold it together, "We're still here, you and me, and we can do anything together"

Willow nodded fighting back the tears that threatened to take over once again.

"Let's find that cure" she said sniffing hard as they sat down on the couch. Tara started on the next pile of books whilst Willow tapped away on her laptop, both praying they'd find something useful before it was too late.

* * *

"Mr O'Connor?" the doctor said questioningly as he came into the waiting room and looked around.

"Yeah, that's me" Angel said, getting up, "How's Faith? Is she okay?" he asked, looking uncharacteristically afraid. He'd come to love his wife so much, the thought of anything terrible happening to her made him feel physically sick.

"Your wife has suffered a concussion, Mr O'Connor, and she has a few cuts and bruises that'll be with her for a while" the doctor explained, "I think her collapse may also have been related to stress and exhaustion, but she's recovering very quickly" he said with a smile, "At present there is no need to panic, Mr O'Connor. As it stands both your wife and child are doing just fine"

"Child?" Angel said, looking dumbly at him, "but I don't...I mean..."

"You do know your wife is pregnant, Mr O'Connor?" the doctor checked, looking down at his notes and verifying he was talking to the right man about the right patient.

"I didn't..." Angel shook his head before continuing, "Can I see her?"

"Certainly" he was told as the doctor spoke to a nurse and he was led through to where Faith lay in a hospital bed and not looking happy about it.

"Hey you" she smiled when Angel walked in, "Sorry about the whole passing out thing, not usually my style" he smiled.

"Faith" he said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. The cuts and bruises on her face and arms would be healed in a few days with her Slayer healing, and the concussion didn't seem to have bothered her much because she was as upbeat as ever. What puzzled him was that she was having another child and she hadn't told him. In fact she'd gone into battle apparently knowing she was risking their unborn baby.

"Doc told you, didn't he?" she said, looking suspisciously at him, "Son of a bitch, I wanted to be the one to do that" she complained.

"He told me you were pregnant, yeah" Angel nodded, "What were you thinking, Faith? Or were you even thinking at all?" he asked, anger rising, "You went into a fight that could've killed us all, knowing you were carrying our child!"

"We had to help B, you know that" she told him, getting equally angry, "If I told you about the kid, I knew you'd go into hyper-drive and make a deal out of me not fightin' in this battle"

"Of course I would, Faith" the ex-vampire agreed, "We're talking about you losing a baby here, our baby. If this is how it's going to be why didn't you just take Mandy to the Hellmouth with us and let her get killed by the demon too!" he yelled.

Faith brought her arm back and slapped him across the face, almost knocking him from the bed. He reeled from the strike but she pulled him forward by his shirt and got right up in his face, making him listen.

"You say whatever you want to me, I don't care" she said dangerously low, "but don't ever, ever question how much I love my kid" she warned him. She pushed him away then and tried to turn her back on him as much as she could without getting up from the bed - her head still felt a little too woozy for that.

"Faith, I didn't..." Angel felt awful for what he'd said, and as much as he wanted to apologise he couldn't find the words. He loved Faith and he knew she loved him. Mandy was the centre of their entire world, he'd never dream of questioning that, but she made him so mad endangering a child he hadn't even known existed till now. "I'm sorry" he said, trying to take hold of her hand but she pulled it away.

"Sorry don't cut it" she told him crossly, turning back to meet his eyes, "I changed for you Angel, God knows I never meant to but...I don't say it much" she sighed, "but I love you, and I love Mandy and I love this kid inside of me...but B, and the gang, they're like family too. You know we couldn't let them do this alone"

"I know" Angel nodded, knowing she was right, "but I just, I wish you'd told me"

"Well, now you know" she shrugged, "You at least wanna pretend to be happy your gonna be a Daddy again?" she smirked, her anger somehow forgotten because it was Angel and she loved him too much to fight him all the time, especially now.

"Happy?" he repeated incredulously, "Faith, I'm ecstatic" he assured her, putting his hand to her face, before leaning in to kiss her lips.

"You think me finding out I'm pregnant'll always lead to me slapping you?" she frowned a little as he pulled away.

"I hope not" Angel told her as he realised what she meant...

* * *

It was two months since Angel had got the Shanshu and been re-instated as a member of the human populous. There were so many advantages to his change, but one he and Faith had taken full advantage of was the fact he definitely could not lose his soul if they slept together. They had a lot of time to make up for and sometimes forgot that they should be careful. Faith wasn't sure whether she was pleased or saddened by this fact as she held the pregnancy test in her hand and stared down at the the blue lines on it. She glanced up into the bathroom mirror and studied herself. She just didn't look like a mother, and she felt like she never would. The idea of kids wasn't repulsive to her but that was Buffy's gig, not hers, and then there was Angel to consider. Would he even want kids? They hadn't talked about it much.

"Faith? You okay in there?" he called beyond the door and she froze, realising now was the time to find out what her long-tern boyfriend thought about it.

"Yeah, just a sec" she called back, emerging into their bedroom a moment later, "Angel, we kinda have to talk" she said seriously, causing him to frown a little. She looked way too serious for anything good to come out of this conversation, he thought.

"What is it?" he asked as she came to sit beside him on the bed.

"Okay" she decided after several moment of awkward silence, "Really only one way to say this so here it comes; I'm pregnant"

That knocked the wind completely out of Angels' sails. It was really the last thing he'd been expecting, not least because he wasn't yet entirely used to the fact he was no longer sterile as he was when he was a vampire. It seemed he was definitely firing live ammunition these days and Faith was carrying the proof inside of her. Of course that meant a major boat-load of manly responsibility had just landed on him, but he didn't mind.

"That's incredible" he said, smiling widely, "I...well, Faith" he said, dropping to one knee in front of her and taking her hand in his, "Will you marry me?" he asked.

"Angel..." she said looking terribly uncomfortable, "Why are you doing this?"

"You're having my baby" he frowned, wondering why she didn't get it when it seemed so obvious to him, "I've been thinking this over for a while, the financial benefits of us being married alone, and now with a baby on the way..."

"You bastard" Faith interrupted, pushing him away and getting up from the bed.

"What did I say?" he asked and she laughed humourlessly.

"You don't get it, do you?" she half-yelled, "I don't want to marry you for money, or for this kid. What happened, Angel?" she asked, looking so angry, "Did you use up all the romantic lines on B?"

The ex-vampire tensed at the mention of his former girlfriend, already angry that Faith was being like this when he was proposing marriage.

"Maybe I did" he seethed, "Maybe she was just easier to love than you"

She brought back her hand and slapped him then, following it up with a couple of punches that almost sent him sprawling.

"You son of a bitch!" she raged at him, hating that she couldn't stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks. She stopped hitting him when she realised it was getting her nowhere and she was sobbing as she fell into his arms. He whispered apologies over and over into her ear as he held her to him, waiting for her to stop crying before he said anything else.

"Faith, baby" he said, pulling away enough to see her face and wiping tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, "I love you, more than anything else in this world, and I want to marry you for that reason" he assured her, "The rest is valid too, but you have to believe the thought wouldn't enter my head if I wasn't completely and totally in love with you"

"Okay, so you saved me at least one cheesy romantic line" she said, managing a slight laugh. Angel smiled and kissed her softly.

"I can't believe we're having a baby" he said, still grinning when they pulled apart.

"I'm gonna be a lousy mother" she groaned, hiding her face in his chest for a moment. He put his finger under her chin and made her look up at him again.

"You will be the best mother, and we're gonna have the most loved kid in the whole world" he told her firmly. She didn't know if she believed that or not, but it was good to hear.

* * *

Angel was told his wife was well enough to go home so long as she did nothing to strenuous for a couple of days and any sign of change for the worse in her condition she was brought straight back to the hospital. Those terms agreed she was free to go and the Scoobies were pleased to see both her and Becky who emerged moments later looking pretty good considering all she'd been through.

"Mom's awake" the youngest Slayer told the gathered friends and firmly, "She's still pretty out of it, and she's lost a lot of blood, but she's gonna be okay" she smiled. Although the group were pleased to hear the Slayer was okay, they knew that one of them must now break the terrible news of Spike's condition to both Becky and Buffy. It was Giles that stood up and asked Becky to take him to her mother, because he needed to speak to them both. None of the Scoobies were jealous of the Watcher as he exited the waiting room. Nobody wanted to be in his shoes, forced to impart the news that he must share.

* * *

"Buffy?" Spike asked softly, finding just moving his lips enough to form words was almost too painful to bear.

"No, sweetie. It's Tara" the witch said gently as she pressed the cold cloth to his forehead. It was strange to her that she was trying to cool down a feverish vampire, she'd never known anything like this before.

"Demon, gotta kill..." Spike forced out, desperate to get up and move but finding his entire body felt like lead

"The demon's dead, Spike" Tara told him, gently holding him still, "You killed it already, remember?"

His eyes were barely open and he had trouble focusing on her as he tried to remember. everything was so muddled in his head, and every part of him hurt.

"Buffy, and Becky?" he asked, knowing if they weren't safe then he would give up fighting, let whatever the hell was trying to kill him do just that.

"They're okay" she promised him, "Joyce just called from the hospital, they took some nasty knocks but they're going to be just fine"

Spike nodded slightly, confirming he understood before the darkness dragged him back under. The pain was too severe to let him stay awake for very long at a time, and with his lack of breath it was difficult to know if he was still alive in there. Only the heat from his usually cool body proved he wasn't a corpse, and although she didn't like to think about it, Tara was certain that to be truly dead, Spike would have to be dust. So long as he had his human form, they had a shot at saving him she hoped.

"Tara!" she heard Willow scram her name and she stumbled as she hurried to the stairs.

"Will, what is it?" she asked worriedly as she ran to meet her girlfriend in the hall.

"Tara, I found something" she said excitedly, so pleased she'd found anything even semi-useful, "The poison the Joh'ran secretes is the main ingredient used in several mystical compounds that were made to kill the undead. It's not much, but it's a start"

Willow passed the book to Tara who skimmed down the page, realising something that her girlfriend hadn't, the information continued further on in the book. She rapidly turned the pages and read aloud from the next relevant paragraph.

"The poison is used primarily in a mystical compound who's Latin name translates roughly into Killer of the Dead" she recited, "the cure required for the manufactured poison will also save any undead creature infected by the Joh'ran's venom" she paused and looked sadly at the paragraph that ended abruptly, "Now if only we knew what the cure was for this Killer of the Dead" she shook her head sadly and passed the book back to Willow who took it without a word, "Will?" her girlfriend looked worried and even more so when the red-head's knees buckled beneath her and she landed on the floor with a thump, thankfully still conscious and in a more-or-less seated position.

"It can't be" she said almost too quiet to hear.

"Willow, you're scaring me" Tara told her as she knelt down beside her, "Tell me whats wrong" she begged.

"I know the cure" she said flatly, "He has to drain the blood of a Slayer"

To Be Continued...

**A/N2 : Okay, so if you're not so shocked that you can't move at all right now, please review and give your opinions on this chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16

A/N : Thanx for all the reviews; Freezyboncoolipants, Kez, SpikesDreamer, Moonjava, spuffy4eva, RoleModelGirlie, Moluvsnumber17, PltnmDancer, wigi, pixiecorn, Rowan Rice, sheilamarie, SpikeAngel-Lover, Lindsay, Time Rowanwood, GoldenAngl88, Ape18, sexysarah, you guys rock. Now everybody take a deep, calming breath, and remember that I love Spike and the odds of me letting him die in a fic are pretty much zero. Now read on ;-)  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 16

"No, no, not my Dad, no" Becky cried, tears streaking down her cheeks as she hugged her mother. Buffy was barely sitting up in bed, her eyes staring straight ahead unseeing as Giles told her the man she loved could be dead within hours.

"I'm so terribly sorry, Buffy" her father-figure told her, obviously feeling the two girls' pain, "We had no idea the demon would sense the ritual and when it came..."

"Is it dead?" the Slayer asked flatly, interrupting his ramble, "The Joh'ran, is it dead?"

"Yes" Giles nodded, glasses still dangling from his fingers, "Spike was incredibly brave, he killed the demon despite...despite his suffering" he explained.

"He can't die Mom" Becky sobbed into Buffy's shoulder "We can't let him die"

Though she wished she could, the older Slayer couldn't say a word to comfort her crying child. She had no words, barely any feelings over what was happening. She was numb to everything, and she wished to remain that way. If she let her emotions run wild as they'd like too, the pain would surely kill her

"...Willow and Tara are doing their best to find a cure" Giles told them gently, "We're taking it in turns to call regularly, but so far I'm afraid there is nothing"

Buffy wasn't truly listening, wasn't even thinking clearly as the words sunk in. Spike could die, was almost certain to and there was nothing anyone could do to save him now. He meant so much to her, as she did to him. They'd come so far from the worst of enemies to such committed lovers. He was the father of her only child and together they were a force to be reckoned with. How life was meant to go on in any kind of normal fashion without him there beside her, Buffy had absolutely no idea.

The memory that forced it's way to the front of her mind right now and would not leave her be was such a simple little scene she was almost surprised she recalled it as well as she did. It was a single night, years ago as she'd laid on the couch snuggled in her partners arms as they watched some movie on TV. Becky was asleep upstairs and the house was quiet, the gang had taken patrol tonight and the world seemed calm around them. With the slightest concentration Buffy could see it all so clearly and hear the words that had been spoken...

* * *

"That's so sad" Buffy gasped as she watched the two lead characters in the movie on TV walk away from each other. The guy went back to the woman he was supposed to marry, leaving the woman he'd spent the whole movie having fun with all alone. 

"Stupid wanker" Spike scoffed, "Fella's blind if he can't see the other bird's a whole lot hotter than the one he's marrying" he said incredulously as Buffy looked up at him with wide eyes, "He didn't even shag the bint before he gave her up"

"William Blackwell, I am appalled" the Slayer told him, swatting him across the chest.

"What?" he asked, not getting it, "Just callin' it how I see it luv. No bloke with any balls is gonna let her walk off without at least trying to..." he trailed off when he saw the look in her eyes. She wasn't exactly happy with his point of view.

"And of course love and loyalty have nothing to do with it" she rolled her eyes as she sat up straight, pulling out of his arms. Spike rolled his eyes when she folded her arms and stared grumpily at the credits scrolling on the TV screen.

"Bloody fantastic" the vampire complained, "We have a difference of opinion and you're gonna be bleedin' pissed at me all night, is that it?"

"No" Buffy told him without looking at him, "It's not like I expected you to understand romance" she muttered, but of course with vampiric hearing he heard her.

She was stupidly surprised when he got up and stormed away. She'd at least expected him to stay and argue not just leave her to be grumpy all by herself!

Buffy shut off the TV and was deciding whether to go find the gang on patrol or just go straight to bed when she felt Spike's presence as he came back from wherever he'd been.

"What're you doing?" she frowned as he walked passed her to the stereo.

"Not romantic, eh?" he muttered, "You, Slayer, spoil every bleedin' romantic thing I ever plan" he complained more loudly as he put a CD into the machine and pressed play, "This was supposed to be for our anniversary next month, just got it done early is all"

Buffy still looked confused but took the hand he offered to her as music began to flow from the speakers.

"Remember this?" he asked with a tilt of his head as he put his arms around her. She was too thoughtful to remember to be angry and push him away. Suddenly she realised what song was playing - Can't Help Falling In Love With You.

"Oh" she gasped when she heard the lyrics and remembered all too clearly the last time she and Spike had danced to this song.

Back in Santa Monica, just moments before the car journey during which Becky was born, she and Spike had been dancing just as they were now to this song. It was as she'd opened her mouth to confess her new found love for him that she'd passed out from the spell the gang were performing back in Sunnydale. Since then it had become one of their special songs, along with a few others which she correctly guessed were on this CD he'd compiled for her.

"I do remember this" she nodded, smiling by now as they swayed together to the melody, "I also remember we had to stand a lot further apart the last time" she laughed, recalling how her pregnant belly had got in the way.

"No excuses now, luv" he said softly, "Get as close as we like"

Her eyes fluttered closed and he leaned in to kiss her sweetly. It still thrilled her when their lips met, when he touched her, sometimes just the way he looked at her made shivers run down her spine. Taking Becky's birthday as their anniversary, they'd been together almost four years now and it seemed insane to think it'd been that long but it was.

"I could stay here forever" she sighed a moment later, resting her head on his chest.

"Forever's a long time, pet" he smirked, "Reckon you'd get bored of me eventually" he half-joked, still so very uncertain of her affection. He never truly felt like he deserved this beautiful woman or the child they'd been blessed with, but every day he was grateful for them.

"I will never be bored of you" she told him, moving to look up into his eyes as the song changed to Wind Beneath My Wings, "I love you" she reminded him sincerely as they kissed again, "And we will be together forever, cos I don't know if I could go on without you"

* * *

Buffy came hurtling back to the present when Giles said her name, clearly he was beginning to wonder about her mental state and rightly so. She hadn't moved or spoken for fully ten minutes as her daughters sobbing calmed some against her shoulder.

"Is my Mom here?" Buffy asked just as monotone as her earlier question.

"Er, yes, everybody is here" her Watcher told her as he stood up from the edge of the bed, "Would you like me to fetch Joyce?"

"Please" the blonde nodded once, "Becky, honey, go with Giles" she said, patting her daughter's back but encouraging her to get up and leave.

"Come on, my dear" the man she saw as her grandfather said gently as he led her out of the door. Buffy's expression didn't change, her body didn't move, not until after Joyce had entered the room.

"Buffy?" she said cautiously as she came closer.

"Mommy" said the shaky voice of a child though it came from the mouth of a grown woman, one of the strongest the world had ever known. She fell forward into her mother's arms and cried as if she might never stop.

"Oh my baby girl" Joyce said tearfully, rocking her daughter back and forth, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" she repeated, crying for Buffy's sake as well as Becky and Spike. They were such a perfect little family, but if a cure couldn't be found and Spike really did die, Joyce wondered how they would all cope. He'd become such a member of the group, so much a son to her.

It was strange to think that the first time they'd met he was threatening to kill her daughter and Joyce herself had hit him over the head with a fire axe! They'd come so far, and yet it all meant nothing now. If Willow and Tara were not successful in their research Spike might not live to see his family again. The very idea of it was unbearable.

* * *

"Oh my God" Tara gasped as Willow finished telling her a story from so many years ago. 

Back when Faith was the enemy, before Angel had gone to LA, and Spike had left Sunnydale supposedly never to return. The Mayor was Sunnydale's latest Big Bad and his right hand girl was the second Slayer. Faith had shot Angel with a poison arrow, the name of that poison - Killer of the Dead, the only cure - the blood of a Slayer.

Buffy had forced her lover to drink of her to the point where she almost died so that he might go on living. This time that was not an option with the original Slayer having lost so much blood already. There was little chance of Faith volunteering or Angel allowing her to do such a thing if she did, and as to Becky, there was no way Spike would willingly risk his little girl's life. If that much had not been apparent before, less than twenty-four hours ago it was proven as Becky risked herself to protect her father and was swiftly told thanks but don't bother. His existence met nothing to him when bargained it against his daughters. She and Buffy were his world and he would willingly die so they might go on living. It was a beautiful if not tragic fact.

"How can we tell them, Tara?" Willow cried, "Any minute now that phone is going to ring again and one of the gang is going to ask what we know..." she panicked.

"Ssh, honey" her girlfriend tried to calm her, "W-We just have to figure this out, think about it..."

"There's no time to think about it" Willow told her frustradely, "Spike is going to die if we don't do something and the only cure is to lose somebody else, I don't see..."

She was interrupted by the phone ringing into life in the hall. The shouting and the ringing combined had woken Mandy from her sleep and she cried for Mommy at considerable volume.

"Go to her" Tara told her girlfriend, "I'll answer the phone"

Willow nodded dumbly, glancing at the ringing phone before hurrying up the stairs to calm the crying child up there.

"Hello, B-Blackwell residence" Tara stammered as she put the phone receiver to her ear.

"Tara, it's Xander" said the voice on the other end of the line, "How's it going there?"

"N-Not so good" she half-lied, knowing he would assume they'd found nothing, and hating not being totally truthfully. The trouble was she didn't know how to explain what she must.

"Things aren't so great here either" Xander sighed, "Buffy's gonna be okay. She needs some rest but she'll live...Giles went in there a while ago to tell her and the Beckster about Spike...I don't envy him"

"Xander, there's something I should tell" she said as Willow came down the stairs with Mandy in her arms, "We...we found a cure" she said as she shared a look with her girlfriend.

"Tara, that's great" she heard him say excitedly, "I gotta tell Buff..."

"No wait!" she interrupted as she realised he was going to hang up and go back inside the hospital, "It's not as simple as that, it's..." she took a deep breath and closed her eyes so she couldn't; see the pain on Willow' face as she explained, "The poison Spike has in him, it's like what poisoned Angel...It's like the Killer of the Dead" she said, almost whispering by the end, feeling so sick and emotional.

"Oh God" was all Xander could say, "The only cure is..."

"Slayer blood" Tara said softly, "I know"

"Oh God" he repeated, unable to find any other words, "Oh God, how do we tell Buffy that?"

* * *

When Joyce appeared from Buffy's room almost an hour after she'd gone in, Xander had imparted the unhappy news of Spike's only chance of survival to the rest of the group when Becky had slipped off to the ladies bathroom. All eyes had immediately gone to Faith, though no-one meant to pressure her, especially since they knew by now that she was pregnant. The happiness over that event was short-lived under the circumstances, and after their conversation about threatening the life of their child, both Faith and Angel knew they were going to let down a lot of people today. 

"You guys know we'd do what we can to help but..." the second Slayer paused awkwardly. Always one to speak her mind it was strange and unsettling to see her struggling with her words, but they'd never been in this situation before.

"If it was less dangerous" Angel chipped in, "Maybe, if Faith wasn't pregnant but...you can't ask her to do this, to make this choice, it's not fair"

"Nobody did ask, Angel" Cordelia pointed out, "Nobody could expect you and Faith to risk your child that way. I know you couldn't" she said sharing a look with the Slayer that only a mother could ever fully understand, "I know I couldn't"

It had to be the first time ever that Cordy and Faith had said anything to each other without yelling or making nasty comments, but these were the furthest things from their minds right now.

"I suppose I must be the one to tell Buffy" Giles sighed, "and poor dear Becky also"

"We'll tell Buffy together" Joyce sniffed loudly, trying to contain emotions that threatened to spill over and explode, "I know it'll be hard but she has to be the one to tell Becky if she wants her to know...Rupert, she'll want to help and we couldn't stop her"

"Joyce is right" Xander nodded, "If we tell the Beckster she's gonna want to rush straight home and offer up her blood to Spike"

"He wouldn't drink it" Josh told his father, "Uncle Spike yelled at Becky when she tried to save him at the Magic Box"

"Ssh, sweetie" Cordy told him, hugging him to her. She hated that her little boy had to be caught up in all this, but these were her friends, pretty much her family and when one suffered they all did.

"He might not be able to say no, Josh" Angel told him and the rest of the group, "I remember when the poison was in me..." he sighed and Faith looked guiltily away. He gripped her hand in his and gave her a look that promised he was over that and had been for a long time, the past didn't matter.

"I was half delirious with the pain" he explained, "When Buffy tried to help me I pushed her way, told her I'd rather die but she wouldn't let me. Even the strongest will in the world can't beat the demon that dwells inside a vampire, not when your brain is frying from fever and your last remaining body functions are shutting down one by one" he said sadly.

He fought a lot with Spike and neither of them would ever admit to liking the other, in fact the usual conversation between them was all threats and promises of eternal hatred, but Angel wouldn't wish what Spike was going through on anyone, not even his greatest enemy.

"Let's go Rupert" Joyce said, as she stood up, holding onto his hand, "We have to tell Buffy now"

He nodded in silent agreement as he followed her out of the waiting room leaving so many grim faces behind them. They didn't notice Becky duck around the corner tears steaming down her face. She'd heard every word that had been said. Sensing the gang were hiding something she had pretended to go to the bathroom but instead waited beyond the door, ear pressed to it as she listened to all they had to say.

Her father would die without the blood of a Slayer, and her mother and aunt were firmly out of the picture. Despite his words to her just hours ago, when he told her he'd rather lose his life than see her suffer, Becky was determined on saving her Daddy's life. She could be okay, her Mom had been when she'd saved Angel, there was no reason to think she couldn't survive the same way. It didn't matter if she didn't, she had to save her Dad, he was a more important factor in the world than she was, she decided as she ran from the hospital to Revello Drive.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : I know all these chapters seem to end of cliffhangers, but it always seems like the best place to stop ;-) Please review and I'll update again soon.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N : Big thanx to all the latest reviewers; SpikesDreamer, u2fan2005, RoleModelGirlie, Spuffyfan4eva, Moonjava, Ape18, PltmnDancer, Demonica Mills, Freezyboncoolipants, Moluvsnumber17, spuffy4eva, Girl version of Chandler, SpikeAngel-Lover, and wow, some of those reviews were huge! Kind of a big chapter and a lot happening, but would I kill Spike or Becky or any of the other characters? Read on to find out!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 17

"It had to be that" Buffy laughed humourlessly as tears ran unchecked down her face.

Giles and her mother had just told her of Spike's fate, the fact the only cure to the poison that infected him was her own blood, or that of Becky or Faith. She wouldn't risk her daughter or ask her friend to do this, she must do it herself.

"I have to go" she said, swinging her legs out of the bed and looking around for some clothes.

"Sweetheart, no" Joyce shook her head as she moved towards her, "You can't just..."  
"He needs me Mom" Buffy snapped, locating the clean outfit her family had brought, for when she left the hospital. She pulled her pants on over the rapidly healing wound on her leg, though she still winced a little from the pain of it.

"Buffy, you cannot risk yourself in this way" Giles told her, blocking the exit as she forced her feet into her shoes and stood before him, "Would you seriously want to leave your own daughter potentially an orphan if this doesn't work?"

"Giles" Buffy said desperately, "It's Spike" she told him and her mother too, as if it were explanation enough, "You know it will work and you know I should be okay, I was after I saved Angel"

"But you're injured, sweetie, you lost a lot of blood already" Joyce remind her, Buffy shook her head once again.

"The doctors fixed that" she explained, "My healing powers have kicked in, they would've discharged me from here in a couple of hours anyway" she sighed, "Giles, please, you have to let me go" she told him, "I don't want to make you get out of my way" she added seriously and her Watcher sighed, sharing a look with Joyce.

"You're a grown woman Buffy, and a Slayer also" he conceded, "It is your decision to make, I suppose" he nodded, "But we're coming with you. I'll drive you back home, that way we can get you back here if..."

"Okay" Buffy nodded her understanding without him even finishing the sentence.

As they walked down the corridor they ran into Cordy as she emerged from the ladies room.

"Buffy, what's going on?" she checked, "Is Becky with you?"

"No, I thought she was with you?" the Slayer glanced back at Giles who looked bemused.

"She slipped off to the bathroom when we were discussing Spike" he frowned.

"She never came back" Cordelia pointed out, "And she's not in there anymore"

Buffy had the most horrible feeling that she knew what might've happened.

"Excuse me" she called as she hurried over to the reception desk, "Did my daughter come by here? She's blonde, sixteen years old, she might've been upset"

"There was a girl" the receptionist nodded, "She ran out of the door before I could check if she was okay..."

"Oh God" Buffy gasped realising she'd been right in her suspicions, "Giles, go get the car" she said heading for the door, "Meet me at home!" she yelled as she ran through the doors and bolted across the parking lot.

Becky had gone to save her father, Buffy just knew it. It would've been sensible to think she might just have gone to see him, say goodbye before he died, but she just knew her baby girl had heard the only cure to her Daddy's ailment was the blood of a Slayer. Tears blinded Buffy as she ran, knowing if she didn't make it in time she was bound to lose one of them - her lover or her daughter. She couldn't bare the idea of living without either of them, she held them both so dear, and these thoughts made her speed increase as she pounded the pavement towards home.

* * *

Willow and Tara were surprised when the front door swung open and Becky came into the house. She was breathing a little too heavily, her face streaked with the tracks of tears she'd cried almost constantly for hours.

"Sweetie, what are you doing here?" Willow asked her as she met her in the hallway, "You should be at the hospital"

"I needed to see my Dad" the blonde explained as Tara joined them, "He's still...please tell me he hasn't..." she rambled. The kindly witch took her hand.

"He's holding on" she assured the young girl, "But not by much" she admitted, her voice shaking with emotion. The look she shared with Willow confirmed they both thought the same thing, they were fairly certain Becky had not been told about the cure for her father.

"I need to see him" the girl said quite calmly, realising her aunts had no idea what she was about to do, but then why would they assume such a thing. She wasn't supposed to know about her blood being the antidote to the Joh'ran's poison, nobody had told her. She'd overheard that which should be a secret from her, but she was glad she had. Someone had to save her Dad, and she was going to be the one to do it.

The witches said they'd make some tea as Becky went upstairs, moving cautiously across the landing towards her parents bedroom door. The curtains were tight shut against the harsh light of the sun that would be even more harmful to the vampire on the bed than the poison that flowed through him.

Rebecca felt sick as she looked at him, in so much pain and so weak. Her father was always the strong one, even more so than her Mom sometimes. She guessed it was because of the supposed evil streak he possessed, he was always willing to fight that bit harder than her naturally good mother.

"Daddy" the word came out as a shaky whisper and she was certain he wouldn't have heard, "We found a cure" she went on anyway, "I..I can help you"

"Bit?" Spike forced out, his whole body aching, muscles hot like they were on fire and eyes so heavy he could barely open them, but he had to see his little girl one more time before the fates took him out of this world for good.

"It's gonna be okay" she told him softly, tears falling from her eyes like rain onto his burning cheeks as she leant over him.

Turning away she went to her mother's weapons chest and lifted the lid. Buried amongst cross-bows and axes she found whats he needed, a small but particularly sharp knife.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself against the oncoming pain she sliced her own skin near her wrist, a river of deep red immediately seeping out and dripping onto the floor. The insane thought passed through her mind that Mom would go crazy when she saw the stain she'd left on the carpet.

Spike was oh so very aware of the scent of blood in the room, and human blood at that. He was far too out of it by now to realise it was his own little girls vital fluid that was being spilt within the room and in too much pain to fight back when his demon came to the surface. His game face was prominent when Becky turned to look at him again, hand under her bleeding arm so as not to waste a drop, she walked across the room and let the blood fall into her fathers mouth.

He growled at the taste, a part of him knowing that what he was doing was incredible wrong. This was the blood of a human being, a person. He was better than this, he'd promised Buffy he'd never drink from someone again, but the need for this intoxicating liquid overtook him in his weakened state and he reached out for the bloody limb that hung above his face. Unknowingly he pulled his daughters wrist toward him.

"No!" a voice yelled from the door, startling Becky who was already getting woozy. A mixture of her exertion in running home, stress of the last twenty-four hours and now blood loss were taking there toll. Her mother was just a blurred figure as she came towards her and hit Spike in the face to make him let go.

Of course she didn't blame her lover for what he was doing, he wasn't in his right mind and she was having serious doubts as to whether Becky was in hers, but that would all have to wait til later she realised as Willow came into the room behind them.

"Get Becky out of here!" the original Slayer ordered and the witch did as she was told, dragging a barely conscious Rebecca from the room.

"Spike?" Buffy checked he was still with her. His demon visage was in place but his eyes were swirling between gold and bright blue, telling her he wanted to push it back but was finding it incredibly difficult to do so, he was so weak.

"Buffy" he said painfully, "What...?"

"You have to drink from me" she told him, taking hold of him by the shoulders and getting him up to a sitting position.

"No" he refused, pulling away, mind as yet unable to process what was going on but a little more coherent from the little blood he'd already drank.

"Yes" Buffy protested, smacking him in the face again and making the demon within growl deeply.

"Drink" she ordered, pulling his head toward her neck. She gasped from the strange mix of pleasure and pain as his fangs pierced her neck and he drank deep of her blood. Her head spun as life drained from her into him, her heartbeat slowing to a lazy thump, greatly reduced from the pounding it'd been doing as she ran home.

A moment later, just as the darkness overtook her, he pulled away and she fell limply on top of him.

"Bloody hell" Spike gasped, his human features returning as he realised what he'd done, all that had happened.

"Buffy!" someone called, he wasn't sure who and several pairs of feet could be heard hammering up the sitars.

"In here" Spike yelled back as he got out of the bed, lifting the woman in his arms, "Watcher, you've got to get her to the hospital" he begged, eyes filling with uncharacteristic tears as he handed his lover over to Giles.

He nodded his understanding and left the room carrying Buffy down the stairs to the car. Spike breathed unnecessarily deeply and stared at the floor. Memories and mixed-up feelings ran through him, a million sights and sounds assaulted him and he realised precisely what had happened.

He'd vaguely heard the witches talk about a cure for the poison that bloody demon had pumped into him. The Killer of the Dead, he'd heard that. Cure for it was blood of a Slayer, he remembered hearing about the run in Angelus and Faith had years back. His grand-sire had drunk from Buffy in order to carry on existing, and though they'd all got over that event and moved on, Spike always hated that Angel had done that one thing he hadn't, had been connected to Buffy in a way she would never allow him to be.

Now it had happened, he'd tasted her as he'd often wanted to, but he never wished to feel her blood in his mouth again. As sweet and powerful as it was, it was her life and he'd been taking it away. That thought didn't give him a feeling of power or connection or anything like he thought it would. It filled him with rage and revulsion and nausea. Now her life hung in the balance because of him and what he was, and he couldn't even help. With the sun high in the sky a trip to the hospital was near impossible for several hours. He only hoped she'd forgive him when he had a chance to apologise for all he'd put her through.

"Spike" said a cautious voice from the door and he turned to glance at Tara standing there, "Oh thank god" she gasped as she came towards him and hugged him tight.

He surprised her by not only hugging her back but refusing to let go. She hesitated for a moment, but soon realised what his problem was as his tears soaked through the shoulder of her blouse.

Spike had almost died, the relief of surviving would make anyone cry, the witch realised. Now his 'wife' was in danger and he couldn't help, another reason for tears. What Tara didn't realise was that Spike was really crying for his daughter. The girl had been prepared to give up her life for him and that was a whole different scenario. He now saw clearly what was blurry and uncertain before. She'd cut herself and offered up her life's blood to him. It was her arm he had held in his hands and prepared to drink from, never quite getting the chance as Buffy took over, forcing his mouth to her neck. Becky had tried though, offered to die so he might go on existing. Silly, stupid little girl she was, but she was his little girl and he loved her deeply. The fact she loved him enough to do that, her and Buffy both, it touched him beyond anything else. He couldn't believe he had been so fortunate to have these two amazing women in his life, or that he was so unlucky to be possibly losing them now.

* * *

As soon as the sun went down, Spike declared he was leaving for the hospital. Willow and Tara were already there having swapped with Faith and Angel who were eager to see their little girl. They'd stayed with Spike at Revello Drive until the sun went down, during which time the bleached blond and his grand-sire had one of their most civil conversations to date.

"She's an incredible woman" Angel had said as he stood in the bedroom doorway.

"One thing we'll always agree on" Spike had answered without turning at all. The whole conversation was conducted like this, ex-vampire in the doorway, grand-childe sitting on the bed with his back to him. Buffy had saved them both from almost the same thing and both the same way. Yet another thing they had in common now.

"How did you bear it?" Spike had asked, "Knowing what you'd done to her..."

"You can't blame yourself" Angel sympathised, "When someone loves you so much, hell-bent on saving you...it was her decision"

Spike nodded absently, knowing it was true, but not feeling any the less horrible about drinking from both his woman and his little girl. How he felt these emotions without a soul, no-one had ever been sure, least of all now. Angel had his suspicions, in fact he'd had them since way before either he or Spike had come to Sunydale.

Drusilla was more than a little crazy and famous for starting something and not finishing it properly because she got bored in the middle and changed the game. Angel often wondered if William had been turned properly, if there wasn't some loophole or something that meant Spike possessed a little of his human soul as a vampire. He never mentioned it, not certain whether the response of the vampire, Buffy, or any of the gang would be good or bad, but he thought about it, every time this kind of thing happened. Everytime Spike looked guilty or affectionate or sad, or any of the emotions a soulless creature should not feel.

Now as they sat in the back of the cab, headed for the hospital, Angel shared a look with Faith and she smiled at him, holding Mandy on her lap. Despite his history with Buffy, he was no longer jealous of the relationship between his ex and Spike. A long time ago he had accepted their love and realised just how much he cared for Faith. The day they'd got married and he'd spoken words of love to her as they exchanged rings and kissed before the congregation, he knew she was the only woman for him, for now and forever. Mandy had been a wonderful gift and their second child would be adored just as much as she was.

"Your friend's in a hurry" the taxi driver commented and Angel came back from his daydream, realising they'd arrived in the parking lot of the hospital and that Spike was already to the doors of the building.

"In his situation, you would be too" he sighed as he got his little family from the cab and pulled out some money to pay for the ride.

* * *

Spike was shaking as he pushed open the door he knew he'd find Buffy and Rebecca behind. He felt ridiculous for it, but these two peoples good opinion was just about all that mattered to him, and he was so afraid to have lost that. His fears of hate and rejection were quashed as he entered the room and Becky jumped up from her seat, running into his arms and hugging him so tight he was grateful not to need breath.

"Hello, baby" he said softly, his hand stroking her blonde hair down her back, "I am so sorry" he told her.

"No" she shook her head against his shoulder, "You didn't do anything wrong" she promised him, "I tried to make you drink" she said, tears welling up in her eyes once against as she pulled away enough to look at him, so glad to see him at all.

"What did you do to yourself?" he muttered, as he gently lifted her bandaged arm and studied it. He knew very well what she'd done and he didn't like it at all.

"What did I say to you about putting yourself in danger for me you silly girl" he scolded half-heartedly. He was incredibly grateful for what she'd tried to do. The love she'd proved to have for him was beyond anything he could ever hope to comprehend, but she was his precious girl. If she'd have seriously damaged herself or worse just trying to save his worthless hide he never would've forgiven himself.

"Guess you get your insane loyalty from your Mum and me" he sighed, "Your bloody stubbornness and stupidity too" he smiled slightly as she flung herself at him and hugged him tight once again.

"I love you, Daddy" she told him tearfully, "I couldn't just let you go"

"I love you too, pet" he promised her, holding her close, "And I'm not goin' anywhere, not for a long while yet"

Buffy was by now crying openly as she watched her 'husband' and daughter happily reunited. They were both okay, as was she. It was a minor miracle they'd come through all that they had and relatively intact.

"Mind if I have some time with your Mum now, Bit?" Spike asked as he glanced between the two blondes.

Becky nodded, sniffing back further tears of joy and relief.

"I should go see the others let them know everything's okay now" she said headed for the door. She paused there and looked back.

"Everything is okay now, right?" she checked. Buffy and Spike shared a look that answered more than one question.

"Yes, luv" Spike told his daughter, "Reckon it is"

Becky left then and her father moved to take the seat she'd recently vacated.

"Not so far away" Buffy told him, reaching for his hand. She pulled him down to sit on the edge of her bed, as she herself sat up straight. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at him, a hand reaching out to his face tracing every plane.

"When they told me, and I thought I was going to lose you" she said shakily, "Spike, I didn't know how I was going to go on"

"Hush, baby, it's alright" he told her, pulling her into a hug as she took her turn at sobbing into his shoulder, "I'm okay" he remind her, "I'm just so sorry I had to...do what I did"

"No, Spike" she said almost angrily as she pulled away, "I made you bite me. I forced you to drink, I don't want you to blame yourself"

"I might've killed you" he pointed out too seriously and she glanced away, "Might've done for the Little Bit too if you hadn't..."

"I know" she interrupted softly, "I had to take the chance though, I had to try to save you. We'd be so lost without you now" she told him.

"Oh Buffy" he sighed, running a hand through her hair, fingers lingering near the gauze that covered the wound on her neck, "I was so afraid you'd...that it'd be different" he tried to explain, "That I'd look in your eyes and not see it anymore" off her confused look her explained further, "Love, Buffy, I was afraid it'd be less maybe even gone after..."

Her lips on his took away words she couldn't bear to hear. She could hardly believe he would think she might ever stop loving him. Truthfully she didn't know how to. She needed him to know it but the words wouldn't come so instead she was showing him. The kiss went on for some time, as she fought to prove that which she couldn't say, and he responded in kind. She was forced to gasp for air when they finally broke apart.

"Did that poison scramble your brain, dumbass?" she joked, "You really thought I could ever stop loving you?"

"Dunno 'bout the poison, luv" he smirked, "Just one kiss from you and I don't know which way's up"

She giggled like a teen at that. This was how it was supposed to be, the two of them joking and loving each other and being happy. All the horror in the world, all the pain and suffering they must endure and demons sent for them to fight, it all meant nothing. In special moments like these, the rest of the world just slipped away and nothing mattered because they knew everyone they loved was safe and that they were loved unconditionally by the person before them. It was like some kind of heaven on earth.

"Er, knock, knock?" Xander imitated rapping on the door that had been left open.

"Who's there?" Buffy smiled as if it were a joke.

"Enough flowers to start a florists shop" came Cordelia's answer from beside her husband, "If you're not too busy playing tonsil-hockey to accept gifts?" she smirked.

"Come in, you guys" Buffy grinned, still holding onto Spike's hand as the Scoobies bent the rules of the hospital by all piling into the room complete with gifts as promised.

"I spoke with the doctor, honey" Joyce told her daughter, "He says he needs to run some more tests but you should be able to go home first thing tomorrow" she explained, "Personally I think they like to clear a lot of beds on a Saturday, prepare for all the drunk young things on a Saturday night" she said in full mother tone.

"Saturday" Buffy said with sudden realisation, "Oh my God, Becky, sweetheart, it's your birthday tomorrow"

"I'd almost forgotten amongst all the mayhem" the young girl admitted, "It kinda wasn't important in comparison"

"Well it's bloody important now" her father told her, "The way I see it, some of us came close enough to death these past couple of days, 'bout time we celebrated life"

The rest of the gang seemed to agree and Buffy was quick to send everybody home to get some rest.

"I need you all at the house tomorrow morning" she told them, "As soon as I'm out of here I'm calling an emergency Scooby meeting" she announced, "We've got a party to finish organising"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : So yeah, next chapter is the last one with the party and everything which was the point of this fic waaaay back at the beginning before the demon and the near-deaths and everything. Reviews are wonderful things you know, so maybe you'd all like to press that little button down there and tell me what you thought of this chapter, whilst I hammer out the finale!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N : Thanx to all my fabulous reviewers; Demonica Mills, Moonjava, Freezyboncoolipants, B/S Rox, RoleModelGirlie, Ape18, ShannenMariaDoherty, sheilamarie, Moluvsnumber17, and all the people that reviewed all the other chapters of my fic too! Well, it's four months since this sequel began, and would you believe almost a year since the original story (Our Little Secret) started! And now we've come to the very end. Enjoy!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 18

It was lunch time on Saturday, and everybody had been assigned a task for the preparation of Rebecca Blackwell's sixteenth birthday party. Spike was at the house with the girl herself, finalising arrival times for the food and checking up on which guests were still able to make it, whilst Willow and Tara had been sent out to fetch the cake from the bakery and more decorations. Everyone else was lending a hand at the Bronze preparing the club with streamers, balloons and banners, as well as shifting furniture between them.

"Buffy, what did I just say to you?" Joyce complained as she watched her daughter balance precariously on the top of the step ladder as she tied balloons to a beam on the ceiling.

"Something about being careful?" Buffy said innocently as she finished her task and climbed back down to the floor. Off her mothers look she sighed.

"Honestly Mom, I'm thirty-five years old" she complained good-naturedly, "I know what I can handle"

"And I am your mother" Joyce replied in kind, "And I know what's best for my little girl. You need to take it easy after all you've been through, like Spike is"

Buffy's fingers went absently to the bite mark on her neck that had already healed, leaving a scar that hid the previous one Angel had made years ago.

"It's weird" the Slayer said thoughtful as Joyce picked up the final banner from the pool table it rested on, "Obviously it hurt when Spike bit me but...I can't explain it, it just felt different, even different to when Angel..." she shook her head and looked away blushing then, "And this is not the kind of thing I should be telling my mother"

"Buffy honestly" Joyce rolled her eyes, guessing what her daughter was alluding to, "You really think that Rupert and I never..."

"Please!" Buffy raised her hand in a stop signal and interrupted her mother sharply, "If I pay you will you please not finish that sentence"

Joyce smirked much like her son-in-law would as she passed the banner to Buffy.

"I'm your mother, sweetie, not a nun" she pointed out, "but I'll spare you the details if you spare me yours"

"Deal" the Slayer agreed as she called Xander over and he helped her put up the last banner.

A few minutes later, the gang stepped back to admire their handiwork.

"It looks great" Cordy smiled.

"It's too...pink" Josh complained, making Xander chuckle.

"I promise when you're sixteen we'll buy new decorations" he told his son who sighed with relief.

"Sweet sixteen, never been kissed" Faith commented, "Is that actually true about anybody?" she frowned looking around the group.

They all shook their heads in the negative on that one, though Buffy knew of two people sitting in her house who'd made it to sixteen without being kissed. One was Spike, who as his human persona William was not exactly popular with the ladies, and the other was Becky. At least she told herself the other was her daughter. She knew better in reality but it was better for her blood pressure to have Becky be sweet and innocent a while longer inside her head.

"I think we're done" she declared, checking her watch.

There was just enough time for everyone to get home, get ready, and get back here before the party started. Demon cleanup, rebuilding of the Magic Box, it was all important, but for one more night it would just have to wait.

* * *

"Becky, honey, are you almost ready?" Buffy called up the stairs.

The party at the Bronze could not officially start without Rebecca, it was all for her after all. The guests would start arriving in ten minutes and the girl was still not ready.

"Just a sec" she called back to her mother as she rifled in her drawer for the jewellery she wanted to wear.

She had a vague memory of a locket she'd had as a kid, maybe something someone bought her for her christening or her first birthday or something? Anyway, she really wanted to wear it for her party tonight but she was having terrible trouble finding the little blue box she knew it lived in.

"Ah-huh!" she declared when she finally found it, grabbing the box from the drawer. It slipped through her fingers both the locket and little velvet cushion it sat on falling out onto the floor. As she bent down to gather them up, Becky found a piece of paper had come from the box too.

"With love from D" she read aloud, frowning hard as she tried to remember what the D stood for. She couldn't think of anyone, as she walked down the stairs, the necklace in her hand.

"About bloody time" Spike cursed when he heard her approach, "We were beginning to think you..." he stopped suddenly when he turned and saw his little girl, looking so grown up in her 'posh party frock' as he called it, "Bloody hell Bit. You look stunning, pet" he smiled, eyes full of fatherly pride.

"Oh, Rebecca" Buffy smiled also, tears coming to her eyes as she felt so proud and at the same time so incredibly old knowing she had a daughter that looked so much like an adult these days.

"I wanted to wear this" she said, dangling her locket from her fingers, and trying to stop her parents staring at her in that disconcerting way.

"Here, luv, I'll do that for you" Spike offered, taking the silver item from her and fastening it round her neck.

"Where did I get it?" she asked both her parents, "I can't remember and the note in the box just said from D? I don't remember knowing anybody with that initial so well"

"Sorry sweetie I don't remember either" Buffy shook her head, "Anyway, we need to go" she said, encouraging her daughter towards the door.

The three all left, headed for the party at the Bronze, all still trying to remember who the mysterious 'D' might be, and coming up blank every time.

* * *

Buffy ran up Glory's tower as if her life depended on it, of course it really did but more importantly so did her daughters. The hell-god was convinced that Rebecca was her ticket home, that she was the Key and her blood would open the portal to Hell. As time went on it had seemed as if she were right in her assumption, but the Slayer's sister Dawn had started to notice that the weird things that happened around Becky only ever happened if she was there too...

On the top of the tower Spike struggled against Glory as Dawn rescued the baby from the ledge. She realised then, with some horror, that it was all over. Spike was about to be thrown from the tower and though it shouldn't kill him, it meant he'd be of no use in saving her or his daughter. Worse than this, Dawnie realised she was bleeding and that as her blood trickled over the side of the tower it was opening a portal that hung in the air. Whilst it was a relief to note there was not a scratch on the baby in her arms, it was impossibly painful to realise her assumptions had been correct. She was the real Key and she had just opened the gateway to Hell.

"Well, kids" Glory turned and grinned at the fourteen year old and the small child in her arms, "Looks like you're both coming on a little trip with Aunt Glory" she smiled.

"Not a chance" said the Slayer's voice behind her and the Hell god turned to deal with Buffy.

"I already beat you up once today" she sighed, "and I smacked your precious vampire down. You really think you can stop me now?" she asked.

Buffy had more power running through her being than she'd ever had before. Adrenaline, anger, but mostly just that pure animalistic rage that come to a mother when her baby is in danger. With a scream fit to wake the dead, she launched herself at Glory, swinging the Troll hammer in her hands, time and time again. Glory stood no chance as she was literally beaten into submission. As Buffy kicked her bloodied body from the tower, she morphed in mid-air, back into Ben, who died on impact with the ground.

"My baby" Buffy cried as she turned back and Dawn handed Rebecca to her. She held the baby close to her and shed tears of relief as she looked over at her sister, "We have to get out of here" she told her but Dawn shook her head.

"It's too late for me" she yelled over the noise of various demons that emerged from the ever expanding hole to Hell. A dragon flew out and up overhead as bolts of lighting cracked the ground below.

"You?" Buffy gasped, finally understanding.

"I'm the Key, Buffy, not Rebecca" Dawn cried, tears running down her cheeks, "There's not a mark on her, it was my blood that started this...and my blood that has to stop it" she said firmly though she was petrified.

"Dawnie, no" Buffy cried, "You're my sister, you can't just..."

"I can" the younger girl nodded, "I have to" she walked over to her sister and kissed her forehead, before doing the same to Rebecca, "I know you're the Slayer, Buffy, but you have other responsibilities too now, like Spike and Becky. No-one is going to miss me when I'm gone" she said, fighting tears.

"I'll miss you" Buffy sobbed, "We all will, you can't just..."

"Please, Buffy" Dawn interrupted, "I'm not afraid to die" she said bravely, "and I know this is what I have to do"

She turned away and looked out at the sky, the sun just beginning to rise was bathing the sky in red and orange. She smiled as she realised what a precious gift she was giving to the world, and most importantly to her sister and her niece.

"I love you" she told them one last time before she ran and jumped from the edge of the platform.

From below Spike saw her falling, and then hanging in the centre of the portal, writhing with pain. A moment later there was a flash of green energy so bright, everyone had to look away, and then it was over.

Buffy made her way down the tower, hugging her baby close to her body. Spike was forced to wait in the shadows until she came to him and then he hugged them both tightly.

"We did it Buffy, you did an excellent job" Giles smiled as he and the other Scoobies gathered around them.

"I can't believe we all got through this without losing anyone" she cried with relief as Spike held on to her.

"What happened to Glory?" Xander asked worriedly.

"S-she's gone" Tara explained, "a-at least, we're pretty sure"

"Ben is dead" Willow said a little sadly, "I'm fairly certain that means she is too"

"It is something we'll have to research" Giles nodded, "but I think for now we should be glad of our victory. It is somewhat of a miracle that we all came through relatively unscathed" he smiled.

As the gang made their way home, Spike ever mindful of the rising sun, Buffy glanced back behind her at the tower, a slight frown on her features. She had the weirdest feeling, like she'd left something behind...

* * *

"There's the birthday girl!" Xander grinned as his 'niece' came in the door of the Bronze flanked by her parents. There was much hugging and kissing and present giving as the whole group of Scoobies descended upon Becky. She loved the attention and the gifts, but then what sixteen year old wouldn't? Many of her friends arrived soon after, and she danced and laughed with them as her parents and the gang looked on, mostly staying to the side of the dance-floor with their drinks. They felt a little too old for crazy dancing with the young people most of the time.

Cordy found it sweet and Xander just amusing when one of Becky's friends younger sisters who'd tagged along asked Josh to dance. He looked stunned by the question and even more so by the experience of slow-dancing with a pretty girl.

The party went on into the night until finally the DJ announced it was the final dance.

Again Josh could be seen with young Emily, and Willow convinced Tara they should grace the floor with their presence. Faith dragged Angel up and Cordy and Xander decided what the hell if everyone else was going to.

"And you two are standing here watching, why?" Becky asked her parents with a fake look of annoyance.

"Same reason you are I'd wager" Spike told her, "Whatever that is"

"Dances like these are for people in love" his daughter shrugged, "That means people like you guys, and not people like me"

"But it's your party sweetie" Buffy said a little sadly, "You should have a last dance with someone special"

"Er, Becky?" said a voice and they turned to see a young man standing behind them.

"Michael, what are you doing here?" the young girl asked with wide eyes, and Spike pulled on Buffy's hand leading her over to the dance floor.

"Come on, Slayer. Let's leave them be" he said pulling her into his arms and swaying to the music.

"That's so weird that he just showed up" Buffy frowned a little, "I'm sure Becky told me he had a girlfriend...Spike?" she said suddenly noticing the smirk he was trying to hide, "Spike, what did you do?"

"Look, I knew Becky liked the boy, I heard her on the phone asking him what he was doing tonight. Little sod said he was seeing his girlfriend" he explained.

"And?" Buffy pressed, wanting the whole story.

"Kid doesn't have a girl, Slayer, he was lying" he almost laughed at her expression, "Me and Xander do talk sometimes y'know, have a beer and such, have a natter about the kids and what-not. Turns out your boy Michael knew Josh and Becky were connected and back when they were kids he noticed her more than he let on"

"So why tell her he had a girlfriend?" Buffy didn't get it.

"Cos he panicked" Spike shook his head, "Long story short he likes her a lot but apparently my reputation proceeds me when it comes to whelps with a liking for our daughter" he sighed.

"He was too afraid to even admit he liked her because he thought, what? You'd rip his throat out?" Buffy giggled, "Oh, Spike, that's terrible" she said, swatting him in the chest in annoyance before hiding her face in his shirt so no-one saw the laughing fit she was having.

"I called the boy up, had a word" her vampire lover told her as they danced, "And there he is, dancing with our girl" he said softly watching the two young people swaying together.

"Our little girl" Buffy sighed as she looked over at them, "All grown up...Pretty soon she'll be gone" she added sadly, looking down at her feet.

"Now Slayer, none of that" Spike told her, lifting her chin with his finger til she was looking at him, "Yeah, one day she'll move out, probably get married and give us some fat grandchildren" he smirked, "but not for a long time yet" he assured her, "And besides" he said, suggestive smirk turned on full force, "Wouldn't it be nice to have the house to ourselves a little more often?"

"Mr Blackwell, I don't know what you mean" Buffy said innocently as she could.

"Well, Slayer" he sighed, "Guess I'll have to see about showing you then" he told her, leaning down to kiss her soundly as the song they'd been dancing to finished.

It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

The End

A/N2 : That's it, that's all she wrote, end of! Hopefully you like the ending and you'll take a moment to review and let me know. Thanks in advance.


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